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| 1965, Nov. 11 |
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| Reactionary white settlers in Southern Rhodesia, led by Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front, made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). Britain imposed some sanctions. | 1 |
| Zimbabwe African People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrillas began to infiltrate the country. ZIPRA was the military wing of ZAPU. | 2 |
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| 1966, April |
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| The first large military encounter of the war occurred in Sinoia. | 3 |
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| 1972, Dec |
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| ZANU began a new phase of the war in northeastern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), using bases in liberated zones in Mozambique controlled by FRELIMO. ZAPU operated from Zambia. | 4 |
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| 1974 |
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| South African détente talks resulted in the release of the nationalist leaders from detention but failed to reach a settlement. | 5 |
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| 1975 |
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| Mugabe deposed Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole and assumed undisputed leadership of ZANU. | 6 |
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| 1978 |
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| Sithole and Bishop Abel Muzorewa, without the support of the nationalist movements and guerrilla armies, signed an internal settlement with Smith to form a black government under white control. | 7 |
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| 1979 |
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| Muzorewa was elected prime minister of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, widely considered a puppet regime, under the internal settlement. The Lancaster House Conference, facilitated by Britain and the U.S., reached a negotiated settlement of the Zimbabwean War, leading to elections and independence. | 8 |
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| 1980, April 18 |
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| Zimbabwe became independent under Prime Minister Robert Mugabe after an electoral victory of his ZANU-PF (Patriotic Front) Party. Smith's party won all the 20 seats to be reserved for whites. Nkomo's ZAPU was in coalition with ZANU. | 9 |
| Zimbabwe joined the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), designed to reduce dependence on South Africa. | 10 |
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| 1980–85 |
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| Despite an official policy of reconciliation, there was initial strain, soon followed by violence, between the Patriotic Front partners ZANU (mostly Shona) and ZAPU (mostly Ndebele). ZAPU dissidents renewed the guerrilla war against Mugabe's government, and Matabeleland was heavily repressed by the North Korean–trained Fifth Brigade, leading to thousands of civilian deaths. | 11 |
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| 1987 |
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| After unity talks, ZANU and ZAPU merged, and Nkomo, returned from exile, joined the cabinet. Mugabe began to remove the constitutional restrictions imposed by the Lancaster House Accords, abolishing the 20 reserved white seats in Parliament and becoming executive president. | 12 |
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| 1995, April 8–9 |
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| Despite widespread popular discontent, the government won a decisive fourth election, although eight opposition parties boycotted the election. Six opposition parties participated and election turnout was estimated at 57 percent. The opposition accused the Mugabe regime of election violation, but the international observers were favorably impressed by the open elections. | 13 |
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| 1996, March 17 |
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| Pres. Mugabe was returned to office in a presidential election, winning 92 percent of the votes cast. Joshua Nkomo announced that he would resign as one of the two vice presidents because of ill health. | 14 |
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| Aug. and Sept |
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| Thousands of civil servants organized a national strike and called for higher pay to offset the declining standard of living. Further strikes by nurses and junior doctors took place in October and November. | 15 |
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