Johannesburg -- Tendai Biti is not what you'd expect from a representative of the Zimbabwean government. Now the country's finance minister, he's a former human rights lawyer and dedicated opponent of President Robert Mugabe. As a member of the Movement for Democratic Change that won elections last year, Biti saw his political allies beaten, tortured, and even killed by the ruling party's henchmen until finally, reluctantly, Mugabe said he would share power.

Biti is the international face of...