Edgar Whitehead succeeds Garfield Todd as premier of South Rhodesia.

Reginald Stephen Garfield Todd was premier of South Rhodesia from 1953 till 1958. As a leader of a White minority regime during the period, he was considered a bit of an aberration as many of the initiatives he proposed and enacted were beneficial to the African citizenry within South Rhodesia. This quality was unfortunately also the reason that ousted him from power, as he proposed legislation, which would in terms of the period; greatly extend the number of black people eligible to vote. For the White electorate of South Rhodesia, this was simply too much, and Todd's entire cabinet resigned, forcing him to reform a cabinet. This state unfortunately did not last very long as his own party rejected him as leader. Many people, both Black and White regard the memory of Garfield Todd with great affection as he was considered a truly good-hearted person trying to serve the citizenry of his country in its entirety. In fact, in 1965 when Ian Smith unilaterally declared independence, he had Todd placed under house arrest. Todd remained active in Zimbabwean politics up to his death in 2002.