In 1963 he cofounded the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and in 1975 became its leader; the following year he formed the Patriotic Front with the leader of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), Joshua Nkomo. Mugabe was declared Prime Minister in 1980 after ZANU won a landslide victory in the country’s first post-independence elections. In 1982 he ousted Nkomo from his Cabinet; ZANU and ZAPU agreed to merge in 1987 and Mugabe became President. He was re-elected in 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2013 in elections increasingly characterized by violence and electoral fraud. Shortly after parliament began debating his impeachment in 2017, Mugabe resigned as President after 37 years in power. His peaceful removal from power was widely welcomed in Zimbabwe. His corrupt and authoritarian rule and its disregard for human rights have impoverished Zimbabwe and led to international condemnation.