Amani Abeid Karume (born 1 November 1948) is a

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

n politician, the former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

. He held the office from 8 November 2000 to 3 November 2010. He is the son of Zanzibar's first president, Abeid Karume, and a member of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.

Early life and career

A Muslim born in 1948, Karume was schooled at the Lumumba Secondary School until 1969 when he became an accountant. During the 1970s he held various positions in the

Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous government within Tanzania for Zanzibar, which consists of the northern part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, mainly the islands of Unguja and Pemba. Structure The government is made up ...

including Chief Treasurer (1970–1971), Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance (1971–1974), Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Planning (1974–1978), and Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Transport (1978–1980). During the 1980s, he worked as a private consultant for a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-based business in Zanzibar. Karume returned to government and politics in 1990 when he was elected to the Zanzibar House of Representatives from the Raha Leo constituency. In 1995, he was re-elected to that position in

multiparty In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...

polls.

Political career

He entered politics in 1990, running for Raha Leo constituency as a Zanzibar Member of Parliament. He was thereafter nominated as the Minister of Trade from 1990-1995 by President

Salmin Amour Salmin Amour (born 1942) is a Tanzanian politician who served as President of Zanzibar from 25 October 1990 to 8 November 2000. He was elected in 1990 as the sole candidate and received 98 percent of the votes. In Tanzania's first multi-party el ...

. In 1995, he was re-elected for the same constituency and thereafter nominated as the Minister of Communication and Transportation. Karume, running as CCM presidential candidate for Zanzibar, won 67.04% of the vote in an October 2000 election marred by irregularities and criticized by international observers (although polling on mainland

was generally praised). The controversy on the elections led to massive demonstrations, particularly in the island of Pemba where

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

opened fire on demonstrators, killing thirteen people. He was re-elected in the 30 October 2005 election, winning 53.18% of the vote, in another contested election with many irregularities according to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission.IPP Media, 6 November 200
"There were flaws in 2005 Z`bar polls ZEC report"
/ref> Karume is married and is the father of six adult children. He is fluent in Swahili and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. In late 2009, after the years of reconciliation efforts between CCM and CUF under the framework of "Muafaka" failing, President Karume initiated peace talks with his counterpart,

Seif Sharif Hamad Seif Sharif Hamad (22 October 1943 – 17 February 2021) was a Tanzanian politician who served as the First Vice President of Zanzibar and as Party Chairman of ACT Wazalendo. He was the secretary-general of the opposition Civic United Front (CU ...

of the

Civic United Front The Civic United Front (CUF; sw, Chama Cha Wananchi, ) is a liberal party in Tanzania. Although nationally based, most of the CUF's support comes from the Zanzibar islands of Unguja and Pemba. The party is a member of Liberal International. ...

, CUF. It was the first time in the history of "democratic politics" of Zanzibar where the two leaders held dialogue to seek out a long lasting peace solution for the isles. The two leaders provided the opportunity to the Zanzibar people to decide on their future destiny and through a referendum conducted in July 2010, the Zanzibari people voted YES to a government of National unity. In Nov 2010, after the first internationally declared peaceful and fair democratic elections, President Amani Karume stepped down, handing over to President

Ali Mohamed Shein Ali Mohamed Shein (born 13 March 1948) was the 7th President of Zanzibar, from 2010 to 2020. He was previously Vice President of Tanzania from 2001 to 2010. Shein is originally from the island of Pemba, and he is a member of the ruling Chama ...

from the triumphant CCM party.

Honours and awards

References

External links

Amani Abeid Karume biography
Boston University, African President in Residence program {{DEFAULTSORT:Karume, Amani 1948 births Living people Presidents of Zanzibar Government ministers of Zanzibar Chama Cha Mapinduzi politicians Tanzanian Muslims Children of national leaders