Zimbabwe's Mugabe takes over as SADC chair

VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe, Aug. 17 (Xinhua/Sun) -- Zimbabwe's veteran president Robert Mugabe on Sunday assumed the chairmanship of Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Zimbabwe resort town of Victoria Falls.

Mugabe, 90, took over the position from Malawi's President Peter Mutharika during SADC's annual Heads of State and Government Summit held on August 17 and 18 in the small town that borders Zambia and Botswana.

Mugabe is Africa's oldest leader and the third longest reign president after José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea. A liberation hero, Mugabe played a pivotal role in Zimbabwe's struggle towards independence and has served as head of the government since 1980.

The chairmanship rotates among the heads of the states of the 15 member states, namely Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.