Forty-five years ago today, on April 18, 1980 (March 4, 1980 in the lunar calendar), Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) became independent. Zimbabwe's first Prime Minister Mugabe On April 18th, 1980, in the middle of the night, Rhodesia became an independent country, Zimbabwe. Prince Charles of England presented the document signed by Queen Elizabeth II granting colonial independence to the newly elected president of Babway, Reverend Kannan Banana. When the green, yellow, black and red flag replaced the Union Jack, the blacks celebrated the end of years of struggle for majority rule. Only four months ago, Britain negotiated a ceasefire, established a provisional colonial government and prepared for general elections. The Zimbabwe African National Union led by former guerrilla leader Robert Mugabe won a majority of votes in the parliamentary election in March. He took the oath at a ceremony to serve as prime minister of Zimbabwe's first black majority government. Representatives of 104 countries participated in the celebration. Former Prime Minister Ian D-Smith declared independence from Britain as early as 1965, instead of accepting the proposal of handing over black rule. In his speech today, Mugabe stressed the importance of solidarity between black and white people in Zimbabwe.