Lord Richard Cecil well established links with Rhodesia, the capital city of which was named Salisbury after the third Marquess (it was renamed Harare in 1982 on the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence). The family had extensive land holdings in the country and the fifth Marquess (Lord Richard's grandfather) was a leading British supporter of the white minority UDI government that ruled Rhodesia from 1965-1979. Lord Richard was the eldest of the younger brothers of Robert Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, who has been both an MP and the Leader of the House of Lords. In 2003, Cranborne became 7th Marquess of Salisbury upon the
2008 Zimbabwean general election healing that includes all Zimbabwean stakeholders", but said this was conditional on Mugabe immediately conceding defeat. Meanwhile, Mnangagwa said at a press conference in Harare that ZANU-PF felt "aggrieved" and had been "greatly prejudiced by the attempt by the MDC and its sponsors to tamper with the electoral system", but he said that Mugabe nevertheless "accepts the result as announced" and confirmed that Mugabe would be a candidate in the run-off. On the same day, US State Department spokesman Tom Casey expressed scepticism regarding the potential for a free and fair second round under the circumstances, alleging that "the government