Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka (; born 12 October 1950) 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 ...
n politician and
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
official. She was a
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Member of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
for
Muleba South constituency during 2010 to 2020 and served as the
Minister of Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Developments from 2010 to 2014.
Tibaijuka is also a former
Under-Secretary-General
An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...
of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
and executive director of the
United Nations Human Settlements Programme
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlem ...
(UN-HABITAT). She was the second highest ranking African woman in the
UN system
The United Nations System consists of the United Nations' six principal organs (the United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly, United Nations Security Council, Security Council, United Nations Economic and Social Council, Economic and S ...
, after Deputy Secretary-General
Asha-Rose Migiro
Asha-Rose Mtengeti Migiro (born 9 July 1956) is a Tanzanian politician and diplomat who was the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations from 2007 to 2012. She was appointed as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for HIV ...
, until her resignation in 2010 to run for political office in Tanzania.
Early life and education
Tibaijuka was born on 12 October 1950 in Kagabiro, Muleba District,
Tanganyika Territory
Tanganyika was a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the United Kingdom in various guises from 1916 to 1961. It was initially administered under a military occupation regime. From 20 July 1922, it was formalised into a L ...
(now Tanzania) to small-holder farmers. She received a
BSc
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
from
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) is a public university in Morogoro, Tanzania, specializing in agriculture. The university is named after the country's second prime minister Edward Sokoine.
Introduction
Sokoine University of Agriculture ...
and studied
agricultural economics at the
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, or Swedish Agricultural University (Swedish: ''Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet'') (SLU) is a university in Sweden. Although its head office is located in Ultuna, Uppsala, the university has several c ...
in
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Located north of the c ...
.
She is fluent in
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 ...
,
Swahili,
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
and
French.
Academic career
From 1993 to 1998, Tibaijuka was associate professor of economics at the
University of Dar es Salaam
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in ...
. During this period, she was also a member of the Tanzanian government delegation to several United Nations summits, including the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements ( Istanbul, 1996); the World Food Summit (Rome, 1996); the
Fourth World Conference on Women
The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China.
At this conference, governments from around the ...
(Beijing, 1995) and the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995). At the World Food Summit in Rome, she was elected coordinator for Eastern Africa in the Network for Food Security, Trade and Sustainable Development (COASAD). Tibaijuka has also been a board member of
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's International Scientific Advisory Board since November 1997. She is a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry
The Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry ( sv, Kungliga Skogs- och Lantbruksakademien), formerly the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture (''Kungl. Lantbruksakademien''), founded in 1813 at the initiative of Crown Prince Charles, is on ...
.
United Nations career
Executive director of UN-HABITAT
In September, 2000, she was appointed by
Secretary-General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...
, as executive-director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. During her first two years in office, Tibaijuka oversaw major reforms which resulted in the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
upgrading the centre to programme status and renaming it the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). Tibaijuka was elected by the General Assembly to her first four-year term as head of the new agency in July 2002 and was given the rank of under-secretary-general, as the first African woman to reach this level within the
UN system
The United Nations System consists of the United Nations' six principal organs (the United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly, United Nations Security Council, Security Council, United Nations Economic and Social Council, Economic and S ...
.
Special envoy of the secretary general
In June 2005, the Secretary-General appointed Tibaijuka as his
Special Envoy
Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...
on Human Settlements Issues in Zimbabwe, with the directive to study the impact of the Zimbabwean government's campaign to evict informal traders and people deemed to be squatting illegally in certain areas, known as
Operation Murambatsvina
Operation Murambatsvina (''Move the Rubbish''), also officially known as Operation Restore Order, was a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country. The campaign started in 2005 and according to Unit ...
. As the evictions were concentrated on areas which had traditionally strongly supported the oppositional
Movement for Democratic Change Movement for Democratic Change or MDC may refer to:
* Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T), the former main opposition party in Zimbabwe
** Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai Congress 2006, the second MDC–T congres ...
, many commentators believed the campaign was politically motivated. Although this was denied by the Zimbabwean government, there was strong international criticism.
Tibaijuka concluded her report saying that “while purporting to target illegal dwellings and structures and to clamp down on alleged illicit activities,
he operationwas carried out in an indiscriminate and unjustified manner, with indifference to human suffering”.
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
The steering committee of the
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) was a United Nations-hosted organization contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 6, Target 6.2 on sanitation and hygiene.WSSCC (2018Annual Report of WSSCC Geneva, Switzerland ...
elected Anna Tibaijuka as its new chair on 19 October 2010. Tibaijuka succeeded Roberto Lenton, whose second and final term of office ended in March 2011.
Blair Commission and Commission on Africa
In 2004 the British prime minister,
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
, invited Tibaijuka to be a member of the
Commission for Africa
The Commission for Africa, also known as the Blair Commission for Africa, was an initiative established by the British government to examine and provide impetus for development in Africa. Initiated in Spring 2004, its objectives include the generat ...
, which he established to generate ideas and action to accelerate and sustain Africa's growth and development. The commission, comprising 16 internationally known figures, completed its report in March 2005.
Career in politics
In the Tanzanian national election, held October, 2010, she became a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for CCM, representing the Muleba District in the
Kagera Region
Kagera Region (''Mkoa wa Kagera'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Netherlands. Kagera Region is border ...
.
Tegeta Escrow Scandal
In December 2014, President of the United Republic of Tanzania
Jakaya Kikwete
Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (born 7 October 1950) is a Tanzanian politician who was the fourth president of Tanzania, in office from 2005 to 2015. Prior to his election as president, he was the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2005 under hi ...
sacked Tibaijuka from a post of Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development over her alleged involvement in the US$250 million
Tegeta escrow account scandal. Kikwete said he had asked Tibaijuka to "leave room for a new appointee," after she had not shown "due diligence" when receiving US$1 million from James Rugemalira of VIP Engineering and Marketing (VIPEM) linked to the scandal.
Tibaijuka stated that the money was a donation for the "Johansson Girls Education Trust" and that she had forwarded it after receiving it on a personal account.
Reelection 2015
In 2015 she was renominated by 63% of regional CCM members to run again for the parliamentary seat of Muleba South. She won the election and returned to the parliament.
Personal life
She was married to former Tanzanian
ambassador Wilson Kamuhabwa Tibaijuka from 1975 until his death in 2000 and they have five children: Muganyizi (born 1976), Kemilembe (born 1979), Kagemulo (born 1986), Kankiza (born 1991), and one adopted child.
Honours and awards
Awards
* 2009: Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development
* 2016: Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa UN Habitat Award for Sustainable Development
Honorary academic awards
References
External links
Personal HomepageOfficial UN BiographyReport of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Operation Murambatsvina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tibaijuka, Anna
1950 births
Living people
Chama Cha Mapinduzi MPs
Tanzanian MPs 2010–2015
Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations
Commission for Africa members
Government ministers of Tanzania
Sokoine University of Agriculture alumni
Uppsala University alumni
University of Dar es Salaam faculty
Fellows of the Tanzania Academy of Sciences
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry
Women government ministers of Tanzania
21st-century Tanzanian women politicians
Tanzanian officials of the United Nations
People from Kagera Region
Special Envoys of the Secretary-General of the United Nations