Sir Roy Welensky; Ex-Prime Minister of Rhodesia
Sir Roy Welensky, 84, prime minister of the British-ruled Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1956 until it collapsed in 1963. Six feet four inches tall and 260 pounds, he was once heavyweight boxing champion of Rhodesia. Welensky was born in what is now Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. He dropped out of school at 15 and joined the railroads at 17, eventually becoming an engineer. He organized a branch of the railway workers union, which became his steppingstone to politics. He was knighted in 1953. On Thursday in Blandford Forum, southwest England.
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