Roger Tancred Robert Hawkins (25 April 19153 March 1980) was a Rhodesian politician and member of Ian Smith's cabinet in the years following Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence.Obituary in The Times, Roger Hawkins, 8 March 1980, p. 14 He was one of the founder members of the Rhodesian Front.
Life
Roger Tancred Robert Hawkins was born in Letchworth, England on 25 April 1915. He was the son of Harry Bradford Tancred Hawkins and was educated at Bedford Modern School and King's College London.Who's Who of Rhodesia, Mauritius, Central and East Africa: Supplement to the Who's Who of Southern Africa. Combined Publishers, 1967
At the outbreak of World War II, Hawkins served with the Rhodesian Forces in 1939 and received his commission in Cairo in 1940. He joined the 1st Battalion, Northern Rhodesia Regiment in 1941 and served in East Africa, Ceylon and Burma.
After the war, Hawkins pursued business interests and, before entering politics, was an acknowledged mining expert and owner in Selukwe where Ian Smith was also a prominent farmer.The Glasgow Herald, 14 April 1970 He was elected President of the Rhodesian Mining Federation, became increasingly involved in political affairs and was one of the founder members of the Rhodesian Front. Following the resignation of Clifford Dupont, Hawkins was elected to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly on 15 September 1964 as Member of Parliament for Charter.Source Book of Parliamentary Elections and Referenda in Southern Rhodesia 1898–1962 ed. by F.M.G. Willson (Department of Government, University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Salisbury 1963)
In 1970, Hawkins was appointed Minister of Transport in Smith's Cabinet. He was sworn in on 13 April 1970. On 11 March 1977, at the height of the Rhodesian Bush War, Smith appointed him Minister of the newly created Ministry of Combined Operations. Hawkins also held the position of Minister of Defence.
Hawkins resigned from the Rhodesian Cabinet in November 1978 on the grounds of ill health. He died in Selukwe at the age of 64 on 3 March 1980.
Awards
References