Chirau Ali Mwakwere (born June 15, 1945, in

Kwale Kwale is a small town in and the capital of Kwale County, Kenya. It is located at around ; 30 km southwest of Mombasa and 15 km inland. The town has an urban population of 10,063 (2019 census). It is next to the Shimba Hills National ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

) is a Kenyan

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. He served as the

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

of Kenya from June 2004 to December 2005, and then became transport minister in December 2005, when serious problems within the National Rainbow Coalition caused a cabinet reshuffle. As a young man he became well-educated and entered government service in 1967, serving as an ambassador to several countries and also in several domestic positions, including education. He was a member of the

Kenya African National Union The Kenya African National Union (KANU) is a Kenyan political party that ruled for nearly 40 years after Kenya's independence from British colonial rule in 1963 until its electoral loss in 2002. It was known as Kenya African Union (KAU) from 194 ...

until 2002, rising to the rank of deputy leader, but he left to join the new opposition

National Rainbow Coalition The National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) is a political party in Kenya. As an alliance, it was in power from 2002 and 2005 when it collapsed due to disagreements between members over a constitutional referendum. Formation In preparation of the 2002 ...

which won the 2002 elections. He is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and enjoys playing

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. Mwakwere remained Minister for Transport in the Cabinet named by President

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

on January 8, 2008, following the controversial December 2007 presidential election, and after Kibaki and his rival,

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He is assumed to be the Leader of Opposition in Kenya sin ...

, reached a power-sharing agreement, Mwakwere remained in his post as Minister for Transport in the grand coalition Cabinet named on April 13, 2008.Anthony Kariuki
"Kibaki names Raila PM in new Cabinet"
nationmedia.com, April 13, 2008. As of Friday, February 5, 2010, Mwakwere lost his cabinet and parliamentary seat. This was due to a petition filed by a voter, Ayub Juma Mwakesi, who wanted the election of Mwakwere nullified, citing that the entire election process was marred by irregularities. The ruling that nullified Mwakwere's election in the bungled 2007 election was made by High Court Judge Justice Mohamed Ibrahim. A subsequent by-election was held on July 12, 2010. Mwakwere retained the seat by beating his closest rival, Hassan Mwanyoha of ODM. He sings during campaign rallies and his favorite mobilizing tune is commonly referred to 'Zipapa Zipapa'. He later joined the UHURUTO team in the 2013 general elections which won the Presidency. .The Standard, July 13, 2010
Mwakwere re-elected Matuga MP

Personal life

Mwakwere is married to Ugandan Rose Batsigira. They live in Nairobi and own a home in Mwakwere's home village of Golini in Ziwani, Kwale District.

References

1945 births Living people People from Kwale County Kenyan Muslims Kenya African National Union politicians National Rainbow Coalition politicians Shirikisho Party of Kenya politicians Government ministers of Kenya Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) {{Kenya-politician-stub