Ian Douglas Smith GCLM (Legion of Merit (Rhodesia)) ID (Independence Decoration (Rhodesia)) (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) served as the Prime Minister (Prime Minister of Rhodesia) of the British (United Kingdom) self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 11 November 1965. Smith unilaterally declared independence (Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)) from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 and he served as the first Prime Minister of Rhodesia from that date to 1 June 1979 during white minority rule. The country failed to gain international recognition and United Nations economic sanctions were instituted.

The party he led, the Rhodesian Front, won all but two general elections until the end of white (Whites in Zimbabwe#The growth of the white community) rule in 1979, a period in which few blacks were qualified (Politics of Rhodesia#Political System) to vote. The Smith administration fought against black nationalists in the 1971-1979 Rhodesian Bush War. He negotiated an Internal Settlement in 1979 after 14 years of maintaining white rule in the face of war (Rhodesian Bush War), economic sanctions, and international pressure. The agreement led to biracial rule and a coalition government led by Prime Minister Abel Muzorewa of the UANC. The Lancaster House Agreement and the election of Robert Mugabe as Prime Minister of the newly renamed Zimbabwe in 1980 marked the beginning of majority rule. Smith remained a member of the Zimbabwe Parliament until 1987. Subsequently, he enjoyed a long and comfortable retirement in Zimbabwe before relocating to Cape Town, South Africa.