Facts: - president: robert mugabe robert mugabe - caption: muchena , june 2006 - successor: henry dzinotyiweyi - party: zimbabwe african national union-patriotic front - deputy: godfrey gandawa evelyn masaiti - predecessor: stan mudenge sithembiso nyoni -lrb- acting -rrb- - office: ministry technology development development minister of women affairs , gender and of community development minister of science and technology development of zimbabwe higher and tertiary education , science and - primeminister: morgan tsvangirai - term end: present 10 september 2013 13 february 2009 - term start: 10 september 2013 13 february 2009 unknown - birth date: 18 august 1946 - name: olivia muchena - image: olivia muchena.jpg - birth place: mutoko , southern rhodesia - alma mater: iowa state university Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of olivia muchena .
olivia nyembezi muchena -lrb- born 18 august 1946 -rrb- is a zimbabwean politician and the former minister of higher education in the cabinet of zimbabwe .she has also served as the minister of science and technology development and as the minister of women 's affairs .she studied for a phd in agriculture extension education with minors in technology and social change at iowa state university .during the late 1970s she was a faculty member at the university of rhodesia .a strong supporter of president robert mugabe , she has served in various positions in the zimbabwe government , including in the ministry of agriculture and the office of the vice president , where she was involved in zimbabwe 's land reform process .when the zanu-pf -- mdc national unity government was sworn in on february 13 , 2009 , muchena became minister of women 's affairs .