Rollo Hayman

George Rollo Hayman (4 May 1925 – 3 April 2008) was a Rhodesian farmer and politician. A member of the House of Assembly, he served in several portfolios as a member of the Cabinet of Rhodesia under Prime Minister Ian Smith. Born in the United Kingdom, he moved to Southern Rhodesia at age four and served as a Royal Air Force pilot in World War II.

Elected to Parliament in 1958 as a member of the United Federal Party, he was a founding member of the Rhodesian Front party in 1962. He joined the Cabinet in 1976 upon being appointed Minister of Agriculture. In 1977, he was named Minister of Local Government and Housing and Minister of Internal Affairs. In December 1978, he resigned from the Cabinet, from Parliament, and from the party, in protest at the Prime Minister's rejection of British-American plans for Rhodesia's transition to majority rule. He ran as an independent in the by-election for his former seat in Parliament, but lost. He soon moved to South Africa, where he lived until his death.

Early life and education Hayman was born on 4 May 1925 to Samuel James Rollo Hayman and Ethel Elizabeth Burnell Pollard. Born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, he moved to Southern Rhodesia with his parents in 1929, when he was age four. He was educated at Plumtree School in Plumtree, Matabeleland.

In 1962, he became a founding member of the right-wing Rhodesian Front party, which opposed transitioning Southern Rhodesia to independence under black majority rule. Hayman ran for reelection as the Rhodesian Front candidate for the Mazoe constituency in the 1962 elections. He won with 56% of the vote, defeating the United Federal Party candidate Neil Patrick Hammond. Hayman was one of only two RF members to vote against the motion, alongside Jack Howman. He charged that Prime Minister Ian Smith was "leading Rhodesians into a trap" by rejecting Western plans for majority rule.

The resignation of Hayman, a staunch conservative and a close ally of the Prime Minister, was seen as a blow to the transitional government. Prime Minister Ian Smith later said that he had asked Hayman to resign when he learned he was planning to leave Rhodesia. He said:

The day he resigned, Hayman announced that he would run as an independent for his former seat in Parliament in the special election. The byelection, held on 6 February 1979, was the last election conducted before the advent of the new constitution. Hayman lost the election with 20% of the vote to Cecil Millar, the Rhodesian Front candidate. Soon after, he moved to South Africa.

Personal life and death Hayman died, aged 82, on 3 April 2008 at home in the Amberglen retirement community in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He was married to Madeline Elizabeth, with two children, one son and one daughter. He played tennis and golf.

Electoral history