The Prime Minister was responsible for nominating the other members of the government, chairing meetings of the Rhodesian Cabinet, and deciding when to call a new general election for the House of Assembly. He retained this role following the reconstitution of Rhodesia under black majority rule, first into Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979, then into Zimbabwe the following year. The Zimbabwean government was headed by a Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987, when that post was superseded by an executive presidency. The former Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe, became President; he was succeeded by Emmerson Mnangagwa during the 2017 coup d'état.