UK – One of the longest serving Zimbabwe diplomat, Ambassador Stuart Comberbach has died.
Comberbach,a white civil servant who served in Rhodesia before he worked for decades for the new Zimbabwe government which came into power in 1980.
”I received with deep sorrow and sadness, news of the untimely death of Ambassador Stuart Harold Comberbach, a seasoned diplomat and an
exceptional patriot who dedicated his life to serving Zimbabwe,” acting President Constantino Chiwenga said.
”Ambassador Comberbach, a former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, died on the 4th of September2025 in the United Kingdom. He is survived by his wife, Benedict Ann Comberbach and three children.”
Chiwenga said Comberbach was born on the 27th of September 1952 in the then Salisbury. Comberbach joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first as a cadet in 1971, and later as a full-time civil servant in 1974. This was after his graduation from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.
Comberbach served in various
capacities which include but are not limited to Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Italy, Japan and South Korea.
He also served as a special advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as Zimbabwe’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, which was his last assignment before his retirement.
Chiwenga said Comberbach was a long serving civil servant who has left an indelible mark not only in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, but in the entire Government of Zimbabwe.
”Ambassador Comberbach was one of the few white citizens who continued to work in the new Government after the attainment of independence in 1980, when most white people chose to leave the country and settle elsewhere. He believed in the potential of our great nation and was not afraid to stand boldly as a citizen of Zimbabwe,” Chiwenga said.
Comberbach completed his tour of duty in November 2024 in Geneva before relocating to the United Kingdom to live with his daughter after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Former Zimbabwe diplomat, Ambassador Stuart Comberbach dies aged 72
