Mary Busingye Karooro Okurut (born 8 December 1954), more commonly known as Mary Karooro Okurut, is a

Ugandan }), 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 southe ...

educator, author and politician. She is the former Cabinet Minister in Charge of General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister, in the Ugandan Cabinet. She was appointed to that position on 6 June 2016. Prior to that, from 1 March 2015 until 6 June 2016, she served as Cabinet Minister for National Security. She was appointed to that position on 1 March 2015, replacing

Wilson Muruli Mukasa Wilson Muruli Mukasa (born 5 July 1952) is a Ugandan politician. He has been Cabinet Minister of Public Service in the Ugandan Cabinet since 6 June 2016. He has previously served as Cabinet Minister of Gender and Social Issues from 1 March 2015 ...

, who was appointed Minister of Gender and Social Issues. Between 2012 and 2015, she served as the Minister of Gender and Social Issues in the Cabinet of Uganda. She was appointed to that position in 2012. She replaced Syda Bumba, who resigned from Cabinet. Mary Karoro Okurut also serves as the elected

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 of ...

for Bushenyi District Women's Constituency. In the 2020

National resistance movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...

NRM party flag bearer elections, Karooro lost to Annet Katusiime Mugisha who was elected Bushenyi district woman member of parliament in the 2021 Uganda presidential and parliamentary elections.

Background and education

She was born in

Bushenyi District Bushenyi District is a district in Western Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its chief town, Bushenyi, where the district headquarters are located. Location Bushenyi District is bordered by Rubirizi District to the no ...

on 8 December 1954. She attended ''Bweranyangi Primary School'' and

Bweranyangi Girls' Senior Secondary School Bweranyangi Girls' Secondary School is a girls-only boarding middle and high school in Bushenyi District in the Western Region of Uganda. Location The school campus is located on Bweranyangi Hill (elevation:) in the southern suburbs of the town ...

for her elementary and middle school education, in that order. In 1972, at the age of 18, she entered

Trinity College Nabbingo Trinity College Nabbingo (TRICONA), is an all-girls boarding school covering grades 8–13 in Central Uganda. Location The school is located on a hill in the village of Nabbingo, in Wakiso District, approximately , by road, south-west of Kampal ...

to carry out her high school education. In 1974, she entered

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

, graduating in 1977 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Literature ( BA.Lit). Three years later, in 1981, she graduated with the degree of Master of Arts in Literature ( MA.Lit), also from Makerere University. In 1982, she added the Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed), from the same university.

Work history

Mary Karooro Okurut began lecturing at Makerere, in the Department of Literature in 1981, as soon as she completed her Master's degree. She maintained her status as Lecturer, until 1993. She took up employment as the

press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Duti ...

to the Vice-President of Uganda from 1994 until 1996. Between 1996 and 1999 she served as Commissioner, Education Service Commission in the Ugandan Ministry of Education. From 1999 until 2004, she served as the press secretary of the

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The president leads the executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander-in-chief of the Uganda People's Defence Force. The in ...

. In 2004 she entered elective Ugandan politics. She is currently serving as the woman member of parliament.

Literary work

Prior to her political career, Okurut was perhaps best known for her contributions to Ugandan literature both as a writer and as the founder of the Uganda Women Writers Association (

FEMRITE FEMRITE – Uganda Women Writers' Association, founded in 1995, is an NGO based in Kampala, Uganda, whose programmes focus on developing and publishing women writers in Uganda and—more recently—in the East African region. ...

), an organisation which has since received international attention and has to date produced one winner of the

Caine Prize The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. The £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 20 ...

, Arach Monica de Nyeko, whose story "Jambula Tree" won in 2007. Karooro Okurut's literary publications include these novels: (a) "The Invisible Weevil" (1998) () and (b) "The Official Wife" (). She also edited "A Woman's Voice" (1998) (), a collection of short stories by Ugandan women writers.

Political career

In 2004, Mary Karooro Okurut contested for the Bushenyi District Women's Constituency on the

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...

political party ticket. She won and has represented that constituency in the

Parliament of Uganda The parliament of Uganda is the country's legislative body. Unicameral, the most significant of the Ugandan parliament's functions is to pass laws that will provide good governance in the country. The government ministers are bound to answer t ...

until today. She served as Minister of Information and National Guidance from May 2011 until May 2013, when she was reassigned to her current docket. In a cabinet reshuffle on 1 March 2015, she was appointed Security Minister. As of April 2020, karoro okurut is the minister for general duties in the office of the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Personal details

Mary K. Okurut was married to Hon. Stanislaus Okurut until his death on the morning of 5 April 2014; together they had eight children – five boys and three girls. She is of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

faith.

References

External links

Full List of Ugandan Cabinet Ministers May 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okurut, Mary Karooro 1954 births Living people Government ministers of Uganda Members of the Parliament of Uganda National Resistance Movement politicians People from Bushenyi District Ugandan women writers Makerere University alumni 21st-century Ugandan women politicians 21st-century Ugandan politicians Women government ministers of Uganda Women members of the Parliament of Uganda People educated at Trinity College Nabbingo People educated at Bweranyangi Girls' Senior Secondary School