AMHERST, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts will confer an honorary degree upon an African leader whose criticism of U.S. policy toward South Africa resulted in a loss of $13.5 million in aid for his country.
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, a staunch critic of the South African system of apartheid, will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the university's Amherst campus on Wednesday.
Mugabe, 62, led Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, to independence from its status as a white-ruled British colony in 1980.
An avowed Marxist, Mugabe is the newly-elected chairman of the 101-member Non-Aligned Movement and will visit the state one day after speaking at the United Nations.
UMass Chancellor Joseph Duffey said Mugabe is being honored for his success in rebuilding his country's economy, which has been racked by warfare and economic sanctions in recent years.
'(Mugabe)has laid the foundation for racial harmony between blacks and whites,' the university cited.
Mugabe is the first head of state to be honored by the state university system since 1967.
