Stuart Comberbach

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His Excellency
Stuart Comberbach
Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland
Assumed office
April 2021
PresidentEmmerson Mnangagwa
Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe.
In office
September 2018 – April 2021
PresidentEmmerson Mnangagwa
Succeeded byGrace Tsitsi Mutandiro
Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet of Zimbabwe Head - Corporate Governance, Parastatal Reform and Delivery Unit
In office
September 2014 – September 2018
PresidentRobert Mugabe
Emmerson Mnangagwa
Succeeded byWillard Manungo
Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Japan and South Korea
In office
January 2003 – May 2014
PresidentRobert Mugabe
MinisterSimbarashe Mumbengegwi
Preceded byAndrew Hama Mtetwa
Succeeded byTitus Mehliswa Jonathan Abu-Basutu
Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Industry and International Trade
In office
September 1999 – December 2002
PresidentRobert Mugabe
MinisterNathan Shamuyarira
Nkosana Moyo
Herbert Murerwa
Samuel Mumbengegwi
Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Italy and Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Programme, and International Fund for Agricultural Development
In office
July 1994 – May 1999
PresidentRobert Mugabe
MinisterNathan Shamuyarira
Trade Commissioner and Head of Mission, Zimbabwe Trade Mission, later, Zimbabwe Representative Office, Johannesburg, South Africa
In office
May 1987 – June 1994
PresidentCanaan Banana
Robert Mugabe
MinisterWitness Mangwende
Nathan Shamuyarira
Director, Information and Research Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters
In office
February 1982 – May 1987
PresidentCanaan Banana
MinisterWitness Mangwende
Head, Rhodesian Liaison Office, Libreville, Gabon
In office
October 1975 – November 1979
PresidentClifford Dupont
John Wrathall
Josiah Gumede
MinisterIan Smith
Abel Muzorewa
Personal details
Born (1952-09-27) 27 September 1952 (age 71)
Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia
SpouseBenedict Ann Comberbach
Alma materUniversity of the Witwatersrand

Stuart Harold Comberbach (born 27 September 1952) is a Zimbabwean diplomat and politician. Currently, he serves as Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Immediately prior to that, he served as a Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Zimbabwe, Lieutenant General (Rtd) Dr Sibusiso B. Moyo.

He served previously as Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Italy from 1994 to 1999, and later Ambassador to Japan and South Korea from 2003 to 2014, in 2014 Comberbach was named a senior advisor in the Office the President and Cabinet under former President Robert Mugabe. Born in Salisbury (today Harare), Comberbach joined the Rhodesian civil service in 1974 and is one of the few white civil servants remaining in Zimbabwe.

Early life and education[edit]

Comberbach was born on 27 September 1952 in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (today Harare, Zimbabwe).[1] He attended the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, graduating in 1974.[2]

Civil service career[edit]

After graduating from Wits University in 1974, Comberbach returned to Rhodesia and joined the civil service the same year.[2] He worked under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serving in Gabon from 1974 to 1979.[1][2] From 1987 to 1994, he was the head of the Zimbabwe Trade Mission in Johannesburg, South Africa.[2] From 1994 to 1999, he served as Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Italy and the Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization.[2] In Rome, he served on the UN Committee on World Food Security.[3] He was Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Industry and International Trade from 1999 to 2002.[2] He offered to resign from the civil service in 2001 when he made it clear that he opposed government price control policies that he believed would destroy the Zimbabwean economy.[4]

From 2003 to 2014, Comberbach served as the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Japan and South Korea.[2] He also served as Chairman of the African Diplomatic Corps in Japan, an arm of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) from January 2003 and May 2011.[4][5] On 8 May 2015, Comberbach was honoured with the Order of the Rising Sun, along with 5 other foreign recipients at an event held in Tokyo.[5] Later, a conferment ceremony was held in Harare, hosted by Japan's Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Yoshi Hiraishi. Minister of Welfare Services for War Veterans Christopher Mutsvangwa praised Comberbach for receiving the honour.[5] In 2015, Comberbach's successor as Ambassador to Japan, Air Vice-Marshal Titus Abu-Basutu.[6][7]

In September 2014, President Robert Mugabe appointed Comberbach as Senior Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet.[4][7][8] His appointment was announced by Mesheck Sibanda, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet.[4] At the time, it was reported that he was one of the last white civil servants left in Zimbabwe.[4][8] He was later assigned different areas of focus within the office of the President and Cabinet: in 2015, he became the Permanent Secretary for Corporate Governance, State Enterprises, and Delivery Unit.[2][9] In September 2018, President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed new advisors, and Comberbach was assigned the new portfolio of Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.[10]

Personal life[edit]

Comberbach's wife is Benedict Ann "Dicky" Comberbach.[11][12] They have children. One of them is Vancouver-based software engineer named Jonathan Edward Yelverton Jacob Comberbach.[12]

Foreign honours[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Documents Officiels. United Nations Security Council. 1979. p. 228.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Zimbabwe National Code Of Corporate Governance Conference 2015". 2015.
  3. ^ "WFS:COUNCIL". www.fao.org. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e Thornycroft, Peta (25 September 2014). "Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe appoints white civil servant as senior secretary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d Nherera, Diana (25 May 2015). "Ambassador honoured". The Herald. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Militarisation of foreign service continues". The Zimbabwe Independent. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b Ndlovu, Tafadzwa (28 March 2015). "President appoints 3 new ambassadors". The Herald. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  8. ^ a b "White civil servant gets job in Mugabe's office". News24. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  9. ^ Tarisai, Mandizha (28 July 2016). "Govt urged to address corporate governance failures". NewsDay Zimbabwe. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  10. ^ Tshili, Nqobile (22 September 2018). "President makes new appointments". The Chronicle. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  11. ^ Diplomatic List. National Printing Bureau. 2003. p. 151. ISBN 9784175610035.
  12. ^ a b "February 5 – 18". Tokyo Weekender. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
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