in recognition of his service and studies, was awarded a special service certificate and honorary life membership. From 1987 to 1995, Chigwedere served as Deputy and then Regional Director of Education in the Ministry of Education, and retired early to pursue politics. Politics Chigwedere first joined ZANU in 1964 while at university. In 1985, he became Education Secretary for ZANU's Chaminuka District in Goromonzi. In 1993, he rose through the ZANU Marondera (and Wedza) structures from ward level to Secretary of Education for Mashonaland East Province. He contested and won the Wedza parliamentary seat in 1995 with the fourth largest vote count nationally. Among those he had beaten in the primaries was Chenjerai Hunzvi, leader of the war veterans association. He was re-elected to parliament in 2000 and 2005, and in 2008 became a non-constituency senator. In 1996, he was appointed to chair the ZANU PF commission on education reform, and in 1999 became the Secretary for Administration in Mashonaland East. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Education in July 2000, and in August 2001, Chigwedere became the Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, Zimbabwe's largest ministry both in budget allocation and manpower. His mandate has been to redirect education curricula to suit Zimbabwe's current needs, to integrate culture and mainstream education, and restructure sporting organisations into sustainable accountable professional associations. With large-scale population movements that came with land redistribution, a big part of the Ministry's work has been establishing and reorganising schools in the new farming communities. From 2003 to 2016, Chigwedere was placed on the United States sanctions list. Following the March 2008 parliamentary election, Chigwedere was appointed Resident Minister and Governor of Mashonaland East Province by President Robert Mugabe on 25 August 2008; in this capacity, he also served as a Senator. He has also been retained as acting Minister of Education, Sport and Culture. Traditional chief Chigwedere descended from one of the senior houses of the Svosve Chieftainship, which has retained its direct connection to the Mutapas that were the national rulers. The Svosve Chieftainship covers the territory traditionally defined by all tributaries that flow into Ruzawi River, down to the Save River – this covers all Marondera and Wedza with Rusike, Mangwende and Makoni to the East, Seke, Chihota and Nenguwo to the North and West, and Nyashanu and the Njanja chiefs to the South. The House of Mubayiwa, which Chigwedere represented, was entrusted with