Joseph Luke Culverwell
Deputy Minister of Education and Culture.
Minister of State
PresidentRobert Mugabe
Personal details
Born10 July 1918
Johannesburg, Transvaal, Union of South Africa
Died16 July 1993 (aged 75)
Parirenyatwa Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe
NationalitySouth African citizenship, Rhodesian citizenship, Zimbabwean citizenship
Political partyZANU-PF
Alma materUniversity of Cape Town
OccupationTeacher
ProfessionSenator

Joseph Luke Culverwell (1918–1993) was a South African-born Zimbabwean politician and psychologist.[1] Between 1981 and January, 1988, Culverwell was the Deputy Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Zimbabwe. In January 1988, he was appointed to the Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for National Scholarships until 1992 when, for a brief period, he became the Deputy Minister of Higher Education.[2]

Early life and education

Culverwell attended McKeurtan and Moffat primary schools in Bulawayo and Harare respectively, before entering Trafalgar High School in Cape Town.[3] He graduated in Education and Psychology from the University of Cape Town and Nottingham University in England.[1]

Second World War

Culverwell was an NCO and served with the Rhodesian Army and was attached to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, British Army in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Egypt.[4][5]

Political career

In 1938, he was elected secretary general of the National Association of Coloured Peoples.[6] He attended the inaugural meeting of the African National Congress of Southern Rhodesia. He became a member of ZAPU and later ZANU in the 1960s. He was imprisoned for 18 months in 1967 by the Rhodesian Government of Ian Smith.[6] As a Coloureds community leader he was appointed a Senator in 1980.[7] Between 1981 and January, 1988, Culverwell was the Deputy Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Zimbabwe. In January 1988 he was appointed to the Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for National Scholarships until 1992 when, for a brief period, he became the Deputy Minister of Higher Education.[2]

Honours

In 2011, Culverwell was commemorated on a Zimbabwean Post $1 stamp. He is buried at National Heroes Acre (Zimbabwe)[8] and considered a hero by the incumbent Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front regime, which has administered the country since independence at 1980.[9] In November 2019 Blackinston Street in Harare was renamed Joseph Culverwell.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Culverwell: A veteran teacher, psychologist". The Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b Fisher, J. L. (Josephine Lucy) (2010). Pioneers, settlers, aliens, exiles : the decolonisation of white identity in Zimbabwe. Canberra: ANU E Press. ISBN 978-1-921666-15-5. OCLC 513442095.
  3. ^ "Culverwell: Great teacher, hero". The Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Culverwell, Joseph Luke (Oral history)". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  5. ^ Killingray, David; Plaut, Martin (April 2012). Fighting for Britain: African Soldiers in the Second World War. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-84701-047-6.
  6. ^ a b "National Heroes (6th Series)" (PDF). Zimbabwe Post. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  7. ^ Zembe, Christopher Roy (2018). Zimbabwean communities in Britain – imperial and post-colonial identities and legacies. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-319-89683-0. OCLC 1036731082.
  8. ^ "Kiki: Mugabe hypocrisy exposed". The Zimbabwe Independent. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  9. ^ "National Heroes Acre losing significance?". The Financial Gazette. 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Harare Roads Renamed, These Are The New Names Of Major Streets". iHarare News. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021.


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