Martin Jerome Okec Aliker is a Ugandan dental surgeon, businessman, entrepreneur, and community leader. He is a senior adviser to the President of Uganda and has sat on the board of directors of nearly forty Ugandan companies. He is the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Victoria University Uganda Victoria University Uganda (VUU), also known as Victoria University Kampala, is a university in Uganda, accredited by the Uganda National Council for Higher Education (UNCHE). It offers short, professional, diploma, undergraduate and postgrad ...

, a private institution. From 2004 until 2014, he served as the founding chancellor of Gulu University, a public university.

Background and education

Aliker was born in Gulu District on 21 October 1928 to Rwot Lacito Okech and Julaina Auma, a daughter of Musa Ali, the first ordained Anglican priest in the region of the

Acholi Acholi may refer to: * Acholi people, a Luo nation of Uganda, in the Northern part of the country. * Acholi language Acholi (also Leb Acoli, or Leb Lwo) is a Southern Luo dialect spoken by the Acholi people in the districts of Gulu District, ...

. He attended Gulu High School for his primary education, before transferring to Kings College Budo for his O-Level studies. In 1948, he was admitted to Makerere University, the oldest public university in East Africa. Before he could complete his studies at Makerere, he won a scholarship to Northwestern University, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, where he studied political science, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Following that, he was awarded a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

to study dental surgery, also at Northwestern, graduating with a Doctor of Dental Surgery. Later, he was awarded the title of Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Lifestyle

After his doctorate studies in the United States, Aliker returned to Uganda and took up employment as a government dental surgeon. Later, he left the civil service and set up the first private dental practice in Uganda owned by an African. In 1971, when Idi Amin captured power in a coup d'état, his residence shared the back wall with Aliker's house. Amin's security people ordered him to move away from his home because he was deemed a security risk to Amin. In late 1972, he fled to Nairobi, Kenya because of the deteriorating security situation in Uganda. While in Nairobi, he set up a lucrative dental practice, staying there until 1998, when he came back to Uganda. On his return, he was able to repossess his home.

Investments

Starting in the 1960s, Aliker began buying shares in blue chip companies, including the Uganda Commercial Bank and the National Insurance Company. , Aliker was a shareholder in the following publicly traded Ugandan companies: (a) Stanbic Bank Uganda (b)

Uganda Clays Limited Uganda Clays Limited (UCL), commonly referred to as Uganda Clays, is a building materials manufacturer in Uganda. The company manufactures baked clay building products, using Italian-made heavy clay processing machinery. The clay is excavated ...

East African Breweries East African Breweries Limited, commonly referred to as EABL, is a Kenyan-based holding company that manufactures branded beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages. Overview The group's headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with su ...

, among others. He sits on the boards of many of these companies and is the chairman of Uganda Clays Limited.

Other responsibilities

He sits on the Actis East African Advisory Board, launched by Actis, the private equity firm affiliated with the Commonwealth Development Corporation. In July 2014, he was appointed chairman of the

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the Makerere University Endowment Fund.

References

External links