Federation Established
Welensky stood for the federal legislature in 1953 for the United Federal Party (UFP), created by himself and Southern Rhodesian Prime Minister Sir Godfrey Huggins. The party was successful in its first election, with twice the votes of the opposition Confederate Party. Welensky himself gained more than 80% of the vote in the federal constituency of Broken Hill and was immediately promoted to Minister for Transport.
The first few years of the federation were characterised by a relatively peaceful political atmosphere and a booming economy. The government's coffers were kept full through revenue from Northern Rhodesia's copper mines, and overseas investment saw the rapid expansion of the cities of Salisbury, Bulawayo and Lusaka. High-standard tar roads replaced dirt tracks and the railway system was expanded. Welensky credited the high rate of development to the astute management of the federal Minister of Finance, Donald Macintyre.
The Southern Rhodesian Government, under the leadership of Garfield Todd, began removing restrictions imposed on native Africans. The civil service opened more positions to Africans, the title for male Africans was changed from 'AM' (African male) to Mr., and diners and restaurants were allowed to be multiracial; Welensky, as Transport Minister, allowed for railway dining cars to be multiracial. However, when it came to liberalising alcohol restrictions on Africans, Welensky argued against doing so, stating that such an action would cause the UFP to lose the next election.
After repeated failed attempts to secure Dominion status for the federation, Prime Minister Huggins opted not to stand again for his party's leadership at their September 1956 conference. In October he resigned and Welensky, the second most senior figure in the federal arena, was chosen to replace him. Welensky took office on 1 November.
Read more about this topic: Roy Welensky
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