Eamon de Valera vs Ian Smith

De Valera commanded the 3rd Battalion of Irish Volunteers during the Easter Rising in Dublin. His battalion held Boland's Mill. He was captured and sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment due to his American citizenship.

De Valera was elected President of Dail Eireann (the Irish Republic) in April 1919. He traveled to the United States to raise funds and support for Irish independence, spending 18 months there from 1919 to 1920.

De Valera rejected the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921, which created the Irish Free State as a dominion within the British Empire. He argued it did not grant full independence and led the anti-Treaty side in the subsequent Irish Civil War.

De Valera founded the Fianna Fail political party in May 1926, breaking away from Sinn Fein. The party advocated for Irish reunification and economic self-sufficiency. It became the dominant party in Irish politics for decades.

As Taoiseach (Prime Minister), de Valera oversaw the drafting and adoption of the Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hEireann) in 1937. The constitution established Ireland as a sovereign state with a president, abolished the oath of allegiance to the British Crown, and claimed jurisdiction over Northern Ireland.

De Valera maintained Irish neutrality throughout World War II, despite pressure from Britain and the United States. He argued that neutrality was a sovereign right and that Ireland could not ally with Britain due to the partition of Northern Ireland.

De Valera was elected President of Ireland in June 1959, serving two terms until 1973. The presidency was largely ceremonial, but his tenure symbolized his enduring influence on Irish politics and the state's republican identity.

Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front government issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain on November 11, 1965, to maintain white minority rule. Britain and the UN imposed sanctions, but Smith's regime survived with support from South Africa and Portugal.

Smith's government declared Rhodesia a republic, severing the last constitutional ties with Britain. This move was rejected internationally, and no country recognized the republic. It solidified Rhodesia's pariah status and deepened its isolation.

Smith signed an Internal Settlement with moderate black leaders, including Bishop Abel Muzorewa, creating the short-lived Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The settlement excluded the main nationalist groups (ZANU and ZAPU) and was rejected by the international community, failing to end the war.

Smith was forced to accept the Lancaster House Agreement, which ended white minority rule and led to internationally recognized elections. Robert Mugabe's ZANU won, and Smith's Rhodesian Front lost power. Smith remained in Zimbabwe as an opposition MP until 1987.