John Ssebaana Kizito (12 September 1934 - 3 July 2017) was a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n businessman,

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and politician. He was the president of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

(DP) in Uganda from 2005 to 2010. Kizito was a member of the University Council of

Ndejje University Ndejje University is a private, multi-campus, Christian university in Uganda. Location The university has two separate campuses located on , in a rural setting at Ndejje Hill, about , north-west of Bombo Town, in Luweero District, in the Bugan ...

. He was reported to be one of the wealthiest people in Uganda, having sizable holdings in real estate and insurance.

Background and education

Ssebaana was born in Mpande Village,

Luweero District Luweero District (also spelled as Luwero) is a district in the Central Region of Uganda. Luweero is the site of the district headquarters. Location Luweero District is bordered by Nakasongola District to the north, Kayunga District to the east, ...

, in Uganda's Central Region on 12 September 1934. He attended

Kings College Budo King’s College Budo is a mixed, residential, secondary school in Central Uganda (Buganda). Location The school is located on Naggalabi Hill, in southern Wakiso District, off the Kampala-Masaka Road. This location lies approximately , by road, ...

and was a graduate of

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 ...

. In 1960, he graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in economics from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

in the U.S.

Career

Kizito'a political career began before Uganda became an independent country. He was a civil servant and politician in several of Uganda's eras of tyranny and political turmoil, including under

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda to independence from British colonial rule in 1962. Following the nation's independence, he served as prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to ...

, and 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 ...

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 ...

government. In 1960, he served as a national executive officer. Upon returning from the U.S. in October 1962, he became an investment executive at the Uganda Development Corporation, the holding company that managed all government-owned enterprises. After independence, he was a member of the

East African Legislative Assembly , native_name_lang = , transcription_name = , legislature = , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , foundation = 30 November 2001 , house_type = , body ...

, an arm 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, ...

, from 1967 until 1977. From 1977 until 1980, he served as the chairman of the

National Insurance Corporation National Insurance Corporation Limited, commonly referred to as National Insurance Corporation (NIC), is an insurance company in Uganda. The company is a leading provider of insurance and risk management services in the country. Overview NIC, one ...

. In 1980, he was elected a member of parliament for the Kampala South Constituency, winning 90 percent of the vote. He was the shadow minister of foreign affairs between 1981 until 1985 and was acting leader of the opposition in 1983. He served as minister of cooperatives and marketing from 1985 until 1987, as minister of regional cooperation from 1987 until 1988, and as minister of housing and urban development from 1989 until 1991. He was a member of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

that wrote the 1995 Ugandan Constitution, representing the Makindye East Constituency. From 1994 to 1995, he served as chairman of the National Caucus of Democracy. Between 1998 and 2006, he was twice elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, Uganda's capital city, replacing

Nasser Sebaggala Nasser Ntege Sebaggala (15 November 1947 – 26 September 2020) was a Ugandan businessman and politician who was Mayor of Kampala from 2006 to 2011. He was an independent presidential candidate in the 2006 general election before dropping out an ...

in 1999 and being replaced by Sebaggala in 2006. Kizito was the Democratic Party's unsuccessful candidate in the 2006 presidential election.

Business

In 1982, John Ssebaana Kizito, together with a business associate, Joseph William Kiwanuka, established Uganda's first private (non-government) insurance company, Statewide Insurance Company (SWICO), for which Ssebaana served as

Chairman of the Board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and Kiwanuka serves as the

Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Death

Ssebaana died on 3 July 2017 at

Nakasero Hospital Nakasero Hospital Limited, commonly referred to as Nakasero Hospital, is a private, for-profit hospital in Kampala, the capital of Uganda and the largest city in that country. The hospital is one of five private upscale hospitals in the city; ...

, in Kampala, where he was admitted two weeks prior, following a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

References

External links

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Ssebaana Celebrates 80th Birthday
(

Luganda The Ganda language or Luganda (, , ) is a Bantu language spoken in the African Great Lakes region. It is one of the major languages in Uganda and is spoken by more than 10 million Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda including ...