The incumbent president is Emmerson Mnangagwa, installed on 24 November 2017 after his predecessor, Robert Mugabe resigned in the aftermath of a 2017 coup d'état.

Per the Lancaster House Agreement, Zimbabwe was originally a parliamentary republic, with the president serving in mostly a ceremonial role.

He resigned in 1987 shortly after the Constitution was amended to make the presidency an executive post, and the office of Prime Minister was abolished.

[8] On 14 November 2017, armed military personnel from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces invaded the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation studios in Harare before Major General Sibusiso Moyo came out on a live television broadcast declaring that the army had activated an operation that would later be known as "Operation Restore Legacy."

The Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Central Intelligence Organisation, both deemed loyal to the president, were neutralised by the army, which arrested some of their top leaders.

On 21 November 2017, facing all-but certain impeachment from a combined session of the House of Assembly and Senate, Mugabe resigned as president.