Amani Abeid Karume (born 1 November 1948) is a Tanzanian politician, the former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

. He held the office from 8 November 2000 to 3 November 2010. He is the son of Zanzibar's first president,

Abeid Karume Abeid Amani Karume (4 August 1905 – 7 April 1972) was a Tanzanian politician and statesman who served as the first President of Zanzibar and the first Vice President of Tanzania from 1964 to 1972. He obtained the title of president as a ...

, and a member of the

Chama Cha Mapinduzi The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, ) is the dominant, ruling party in Tanzania and the second longest-ruling party in the history of Africa, only after the True Whig Party of Liberia. It was formed in 1977, following the merger of the Tanganyika A ...

(CCM) PARTY. Currently, he is the Chancellor of Mbeya University of Science and Technology (MUST).

Early life and career

A Muslim born in 1948, Karume was schooled at the Lumumba Secondary School until 1969 when he became an accountant. During the 1970s he held various positions in the

Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous government within Tanzania for Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, is ...

including Chief Treasurer (1970–1971), Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance (1971–1974), Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Planning (1974–1978), and Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Transport (1978–1980). During the 1980s, he worked as a private consultant for a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-based business in Zanzibar. Karume returned to government and politics in 1990 when he was elected to the Zanzibar House of Representatives from the Raha Leo constituency. In 1995, he was re-elected to that position in

multiparty In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional r ...

polls.

Political career

He entered politics in 1990, running for Raha Leo constituency as a Zanzibar Member of Parliament. He was thereafter nominated as the Minister of Trade from 1990-1995 by President Salmin Amour. In 1995, he was re-elected for the same constituency and thereafter nominated as the Minister of Communication and Transportation. Karume, running as CCM presidential candidate for Zanzibar, won 67.04% of the vote in an October 2000 election marred by irregularities and criticized by international observers (although polling on mainland

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

was generally praised). The controversy on the elections led to massive demonstrations, particularly in the island of Pemba where

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

opened fire on demonstrators, killing thirteen people. He was re-elected in the 30 October 2005 election, winning 53.18% of the vote, in another contested election with many irregularities according to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission.IPP Media, 6 November 200
"There were flaws in 2005 Z`bar polls ZEC report"
/ref> Karume is married and is the father of six adult children. He is fluent in Swahili and English. In late 2009, after the years of reconciliation efforts between CCM and CUF under the framework of "Muafaka" failing, President Karume initiated peace talks with his counterpart, Seif Sharif Hamad of the

Civic United Front The Civic United Front (CUF; , ) is a liberal party in Tanzania. Although nationally based, most of the CUF's support comes from the Zanzibar islands of Unguja and Pemba. The party is a member of Liberal International. History The Civic United ...

, CUF. It was the first time in the history of "democratic politics" of Zanzibar where the two leaders held dialogue to seek out a long lasting peace solution for the isles. The two leaders provided the opportunity to the Zanzibar people to decide on their future destiny and through a referendum conducted in July 2010, the Zanzibari people voted YES to a government of National unity. In Nov 2010, after the first internationally declared peaceful and fair democratic elections, President Amani Karume stepped down, handing over to President

Ali Mohamed Shein Ali Mohamed Shein (born 13 March 1948) was the 7th President of Zanzibar, from 2010 to 2020. He was previously Vice President of Tanzania from 2001 to 2010. Shein is originally from the island of Pemba Island, Pemba, and he is a member of the ru ...

from the triumphant CCM party.

Honours and awards

References

External links

Amani Abeid Karume biography
Boston University, African President in Residence program {{DEFAULTSORT:Karume, Amani 1948 births Living people Presidents of Zanzibar Government ministers of Zanzibar Chama Cha Mapinduzi politicians Tanzanian Muslims Children of presidents