Guide Note

June 25, 2008: Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Mugabe was stripped of his knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

Fast Facts

1. Knighted in 1994
2. Originally awarded the title of Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Bath
3. Prime Minister John Major made the original recommendation
4. Prime Minister Gordon Brown recommended the removal
5. Both moves authorized by Queen Elizabeth II
6. Critics have called for the revocation since 2003

The British Foreign Office's included in it's statement the reason behind the move:

"This action has been taken as a mark of revulsion at the abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the democratic process in Zimbabwe over which President Mugabe has presided."—British Foreign Office¹

Mubage is only the second world leader to lose his knighthood. The first to lose such an honor was Nicolae Ceaucescu of Romania in 1989. He was executed by a popular uprising the following day.²