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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 his predecessor, Benjamin Mkapa. He also served as the
chairperson of the African Union The Chairperson of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union (AU) elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a one-year term. It rotates among the continent's five regions. A candidate must be selected by c ...
from 2008–2009 and the chairman of the
Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooper ...
Troika on Peace, Defence and Security from 2012–2013. Kikwete who is of Kwere heritage, was born and raised in Msoga, Chalinze District in Pwani Region and attended 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 1 ...
.


Education

Between 1959 and 1963 Kikwete attended Karatu Primary School and Tengeru School from 1963 to 1965, both in Arusha Region. After Tengeru, Kikwete moved back to home to Pwani Region and attended Kibaha Secondary School for his O-levels, which took place between 1966 and 1969. Then he moved to
Tanga Region Tanga Region (''Mkoa wa Tanga'' 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 Burundi. The regional capital is the mun ...
studied at the Tanga Technical Secondary School for his advanced level education. He graduated from 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 1 ...
in 1975 with a degree in political science and public relations.


Leadership and political career

Kikwete was born at Msoga, located in the Bagamoyo District of Tanganyika, in 1950. As a party cadre, Kikwete moved from one position to another in the party ranks and from one location to another in the service of the party. When TANU and Zanzibar's Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) merged to form Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in 1977, Kikwete was moved to Zanzibar and assigned the task of setting up the new party's organisation and administration in the islands. In 1980, he was moved to the headquarters as administrator of the Dar es Salaam head office and head of the Defence and Security Department before moving again up-country to the regional and district party offices in Tabora Region (1981–84) and Singida Region and Nachingwea (1986–88) and Masasi District (1988) in the country's southern regions of Lindi and Mtwara respectively. In 1988, he was appointed to join the central government. In 1994, at 44, he became one of the youngest finance ministers in the history of The United Republic of Tanzania. In December 1995, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, being appointed by President Benjamin William Mkapa of the third phase government. He held this post for ten years, until he was elected President of the United Republic of Tanzania in December 2005, hence becoming the country's longest serving foreign minister. During his tenure in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tanzania played a significant role in bringing about peace in the Great Lakes region, particularly in The Democratic Republic Of
Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gre ...
and the
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(DRC). Kikwete was also deeply involved in the process of rebuilding regional integration in East Africa. Specifically, several times, he was involved in a delicate process of establishing a customs union between the three countries of the
East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, ...
(Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania), where, for quite some time, he was a chairman of the East Africa Community's Council of Ministers. Kikwete also participated in the initiation, and became a co-chair, of the Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy. On 4 May 2005, Kikwete emerged victorious among 11 CCM members who had sought the party's nomination for presidential candidacy in the general election. After a 14 December 2005 multiparty general election, he was declared the winner by the Electoral Commission on 17 December and was sworn in as the fourth president of the United Republic of Tanzania on 21 December. On 26 May 2013, Kikwete said at a meeting of the
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
that if President
Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, Presi ...
of the DRC could negotiate with the March 23 Movement, President
Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...
of
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
and President
Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...
of
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equ ...
should be able to negotiate with the
Allied Democratic Forces The Allied Democratic Forces (french: Forces démocratiques alliées; abbreviated ADF) is an Islamist rebel group in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government. It was o ...
- National Army for the Liberation of Uganda and the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (french: Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda, FDLR) is an armed rebel group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As an ethnic Hutu group opposed to the ethnic Tuts ...
, respectively. In response, Museveni expressed his willingness to negotiate."Africa fights to free itself of malcontents", ''IOL News'', reported by Peter Fabricius, 27 May 2013
/ref> On 31 January 2016, The chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Zuma, appointed Jakaya Kikwete the African Union High Representative in
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
. Following the crisis in Libya, Kikwete's role is to lead the AU's efforts on achieving peace and stability in Libya. Later that year, he was appointed by
United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
to serve as member of the Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement. Since 2022, he has been a co-chairing the Commission for Universal Health convened by
Chatham House Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...
, alongside
Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She w ...
.


Personal life

Kikwete is an avid sports enthusiast and played basketball competitively in school. He has been a patron of the Tanzania Basketball Federation for the past 10 years. He is married to Salma and they have five children. As of 4 April 2013, Kikwete was the sixth most followed African leader on Twitter with 57,626 followers.


Honours and awards


Honours


Awards

* Sullivan Honor *2007: The AAI African National Achievement Award (on behalf of Tanzania). *2009: US Doctors for Africa Award. *2011: Social Good Award from the
United Nations Foundation The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1 billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turner, ...
*2011: South-South Award for Global Health, Technology and Development *2012: FANRPAN Policy Leadership Award from the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network. *2013: Africa's Most Impactful Leader of the Year by the Africa Leadership Magazine *2013: ICCF Mengha Award by the International Conservation Caucus Foundation *2014: Icon of Democracy Award, from The Voice Magazine (Netherlands) *2015: Leadership Excellence Award by the Pan-African Youth Union. *2015: African Achievers Award by the Institute for Good Governance in Africa. *2015: African Statesman of the Year by ''The African Sun Times''.


Honorary academic awards


Legacy


Eponyms

* Kikwete Bridge, across the Malagarasi River in western Tanzania (275 metres) *Jakaya M Kikwete Youth Park, a multi-sport facility in Dar es Salaam. * Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), at the Muhimbili National Hospital. *Kikwete Friendship Highway, a 12 km highway in Dar es Salaam that will be constructed between Ukonga Banana in Ilala District and Chamazi in Temeke District. *Schools: **Jakaya Kikwete Primary School in Muleba District,
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 bord ...
**Jakaya Kikwete Secondary School in Mbulu,
Manyara Region Manyara Region (''Mkoa wa Manyara'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The regional capital is the town of Babati. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population of 1,425,131, which was lower than ...
**J. M. Kikwete Secondary School in Mbozi District, Mbeya Region


References


Further reading

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kikwete, Jakaya 1950 births Chairpersons of the African Union Chama Cha Mapinduzi politicians Finance Ministers of Tanzania Foreign ministers of Tanzania Living people People from Bagamoyo District Presidents of Tanzania Tanga Secondary School alumni Tanganyika African National Union politicians Tanzanian Muslims University of Dar es Salaam alumni Open University of Tanzania alumni People from Pwani Region