Stuart Comberbach

Stuart Harold Comberbach (27 September 1952 – 4 September 2025) was a Zimbabwean diplomat and politician. He served as Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Immediately prior to that, he served as a Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Zimbabwe, Lieutenant General (Rtd) Dr Sibusiso B. Moyo.

He served previously as Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Italy from 1994 to 1999, and later Ambassador to Japan and South Korea from 2003 to 2014, in 2014 Comberbach was named a senior advisor in the Office of the President and Cabinet under former President Robert Mugabe. Born in Salisbury (today Harare), Comberbach joined the Rhodesian civil service in 1974 and was one of the few white civil servants remaining in Zimbabwe.

Early life and education Comberbach was born on 27 September 1952 in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (today Harare, Zimbabwe). He attended the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, graduating in 1974.

Civil service career After graduating from Wits University in 1974, Comberbach returned to Rhodesia and joined the civil service the same year. He was Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Industry and International Trade from 1999 to 2002.

From 2003 to 2014, Comberbach served as the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Japan and South Korea. On 8 May 2015, Comberbach was honoured with the Order of the Rising Sun, along with 5 other foreign recipients at an event held in Tokyo.

In September 2014, President Robert Mugabe appointed Comberbach as Senior Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet. His appointment was announced by Mesheck Sibanda, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet. In September 2018, President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed new advisors, and Comberbach was assigned the new portfolio of Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Personal life and death Comberbach's wife was Benedict Ann "Dicky" Comberbach. They had children. One of them is Vancouver-based software engineer named Jonathan Edward Yelverton Comberbach.

Foreign honours Japan: Order of the Rising Sun (2015)