Although unsuccessful, he succeeded in the formation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, a state within the British Empire that sought to retain predominant power for the white minority while moving in a progressive political direction, in contrast to South Africa under the apartheid system.

Becoming Prime Minister of the Federation in 1956, Welensky opposed British moves towards black majority rule, and he used force to suppress politically motivated violence in the territories.

Following the end of white minority rule in 1979, and the recognised independence of Rhodesia as the Republic of Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe in 1980, Welensky emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he died in England in 1991.

His father, Michael Welensky (b. c. 1843), was of Lithuanian Jewish origin, hailing from a village near Wilno (today Vilnius); a trader in Russia and horse-smuggler during the Franco-Prussian War, he settled in Southern Rhodesia after first emigrating to the United States, where he was a saloon-keeper, and then South Africa.

"[5] After leaving school at the age of fourteen, Welensky found employment with Rhodesia Railways as a fireman, while putting his physical strength to work as a boxer.

The Governor of Northern Rhodesia prevented Welensky from enlisting in the armed forces during World War II and appointed him Director of Manpower.

[10] Although a member of the Legislative Council, this was not a full-time job, and he continued working as a train driver for Rhodesia Railways, and also as a Trade Union leader.

[13] Apart from organising the federation, Welensky won a significant political battle in Northern Rhodesia against the British South Africa Company (BSAC), which controlled mineral rights and the associated royalties throughout the territory.

The company, and not the British Crown, had signed the treaties with African kings that surrendered mining rights, but the BSAC had stopped administering Northern Rhodesia in 1924.

[16] Labour, mindful of the overwhelming opposition of Africans from both Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland and of the Colonial Office mandate to oversee native interests, had been lukewarm at best to the idea of federation, and had been wholly opposed to amalgamation.

After the election, the bipartisan approach to federation broke down and the British laws for its creation passed only with the support of the Conservatives, against opposition from both the Liberal and Labour Parties.

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.

[21] After repeated failed attempts to secure Dominion status for the federation, the prime minister Godfrey Huggins opted not to stand again for his party's leadership at their September 1956 conference.

[25] The Colonial Secretary Alan Lennox-Boyd visited the Federation in January 1957, while Welensky prepared to outline the difficulties regarding African advancement.

Having lived outside the territory for more than 25 years and having great difficulty remembering his native African language, he required the assistance of interpreters to communicate with the population, whom he stirred into a frenzy with his speeches.

[35][36] The media's use of the term 'police state' to describe the response to the violence outraged the Liberals, the Church of Scotland and leftist Conservatives, and particularly the Labour Party, in Britain.

Released in October 1960, the report advocated sweeping changes to be made to the federal structure, including African majorities in the Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesian legislatures.

Welensky was opposed to any talk of secession, and the Monckton Report suggested it in writing when it stated that the territories should have the option after five years under a new federal constitution.

Welensky had Banda's cell wired for sound and was frustrated with what he saw as the British government's "betrayal, duplicity, appeasement, cowardice and loss of nerve"[40] when dealing with the African nationalists and the federation.

In discussions with Smith regarding the concept of Northern Rhodesia under African rule, Welensky stated: "I am not prepared to hand power to the blacks.

"[46] Welensky considered a federal unilateral declaration of independence when the new Northern Rhodesian constitution appeared likely to grant an African majority in its parliament.

Believing that preparations were being made for an invasion from Kenya, he discussed the Federation's ability to repel an attack with his defence chiefs and plans were set in motion.

Welensky dispatched the Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF) to assist in their evacuation, but was prevented by the British government from entering the Congo itself.

Welensky was sympathetic to the situation but unable to act; the British government, which had ultimate jurisdiction over the Federation, disallowed him from mobilising the armed forces.

[51] Welensky decided to support Tshombe, feeling that Katanga could provide a buffer between the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba of the Congolese government.

[55] United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld, hoping to negotiate a solution to Katanga's secession, agreed to meet Tshombe at Ndola.

[51] When UN troops initiated military action against Katanga in December 1962, Tshombe fled to Salisbury and met with Welensky, vowing to continue the secession.

[citation needed] Since Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia had been promised independence by Britain under 'one man, one vote' constitutions, the Federation was essentially dead.

Southern Rhodesia, still governed by its white minority, was subject to attacks in the United Nations general assembly which regarded its constitution as unsatisfactory.

It demanded 'one man, one vote' elections, stating that this was the only "realistic answer to the powerful and irresistible urge of the indigenous people for freedom and equality".