Constitution of Rhodesia

The Constitution of Rhodesia, commonly called just the constitution, is the under which the Government of Rhodesia operates. The constitution was first drafted by Gordon Overton at the Preliminary Council of the Rhodesian Dominion held in the in, Albion-Gaul, on February 25h, 1905. Fifty members of the Preliminary Council represented the collective peoples of Rhodesia, which included the famous Thomas Northmere and William Rightman, whom, with Overton, are considered to be the founding fathers of the Rhodesian nation. After the document was ratified by the Preliminary Council, approved by the Parliament and Prime Minister of Albion-Gaul, and given royal assent by King, the constitution was implemented on May 1st, 1905, and came into full effect with the elections held that November.

Two other enactments have significant legislative significance in terms of the constitution of Rhodesia, those being the, given on 11 December 1931, and the subsequent Rhodesia Act 1932, passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 10 January 1932. Both formally eliminate legislative dominance of the Parliament of the United Kingdom over that of the local Parliament of Rhodesia, officially forming the Commonwealth of Rhodesia as opposed to the Dominion. While the Statute of Westminster essentially granted Rhodesia total independence from the United Kingdom, the Rhodesia Act officially severed all remaining constitutional ties between the two parliaments. With the abolition of the Albish monarchy's dominance in Rhodesia proper through the Dundee-Windsor Split in 1982, all links to the former Commonwealth realm were eliminated.