Uganda became an independent

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

on 9 October 1962. As a

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the re ...

, the

British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British con ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, remained

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

as Queen of Uganda until the link with the British monarchy was severed on 9 October 1963 and the '' Kabaka'' (King) of

Buganda Buganda is a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda, Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the List of current non-sovereign African monarchs, traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Ug ...

, Sir Edward Mutesa II, became the first

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The President (government title), president leads the Executive (government), executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander- ...

. Direct British rule of the Uganda Protectorate ended in 1962 with the Uganda Independence Act, which granted independence of the protectorate under the name "Uganda" but retained the British monarch, Elizabeth II, as nominal head of state and Queen of Uganda. Her constitutional roles as head of state were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of Uganda Sir Walter Coutts, who was the only holder of the office.

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan politician who served as the second prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and the second president of Uganda from 1966 to 1971 and later from 1980 to 1985. A Lango, ...

held office as

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

. In 1963, Uganda adopted a new constitution which abolished the links with the British monarchy. Uganda became a republic within the Commonwealth. However, the new Ugandan state was deliberately referred to as a state rather than a republic, and the constituent native kingdoms (such as

) continued in existence. The description "State" implied that the country was not a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

but instead a federation of tribal kingdoms. Following the proclamation of the State of Uganda on 9 October 1963, the ''Kabaka'' (King) of Buganda, Edward Mutesa II, became the first

. Uganda did not become a republic ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' until 1966 with Obote's conflict with President Edward Mutesa II.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uganda (1962-1963) Former Commonwealth realms Government of Uganda Political history of Uganda Uganda and the Commonwealth of Nations

Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

1962 establishments in Uganda 1963 disestablishments in Africa