Benjamin William Mkapa
Benjamin William Mkapa (born November 12, 1938 in Masasi ; † July 24, 2020 in Dar es Salaam ) was President of Tanzania from 1995 to 2005 .
Life
Mkapa was educated in Catholic schools and studied at Makerere University in Uganda . He worked as a journalist , was managing-editor of various newspapers, press secretary in the office of the president and founder of the Tanzania News Agency. In 1976 he became High Commissioner in Nigeria and in 1977 was appointed Foreign Minister to the Cabinet. In the course of time he took on other ministerial posts and represented his country as ambassador in various countries (including the USA ).
In November 1995 he was elected third President of the United Republic of Tanzania after Julius Nyerere and Ali Hassan Mwinyi . In October 2000 he was re-elected. His term of office ended on December 21, 2005. He was unable to run again as the Tanzanian constitution only allows the president two terms.
Mkapa faced various challenges during his tenure:
- The strongly Muslim islands of Zanzibar have been linked to the mainland in a union since 1964. However, Zanzibar is always careful to emphasize its independence. It has its own parliament , its own president and, since 2005, its own flag. Sections of the Zanzibar population repeatedly question the Union. Mkapa tried not to jeopardize unity.
- The elections in Zanzibar in 1995 and 2000 showed that the population is divided between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and the CUF, one of the opposition parties . The outcome of both elections was controversial and sparked tension in Zanzibar. Here, too, Mkapa was called upon to help smooth the waves.
- The great socio-economic and political challenge was to lead Tanzania further on the way from a socialist to a market economy-oriented society. His predecessor Mwinyi had already laid the foundation for this change. As with him, the influence of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on economic policy was clearly noticeable under Mkapa . Mkapa, for example, continued the privatization of state-owned companies. For example, the National Bank of Commerce, telecommunications, energy supply and parts of the water supply were wholly or partially privatized .
- Mkapa was also committed to fighting corruption . There were calls to make corruption public, some investigations and articles in the press, but only some of the allegations were consistently investigated.
In 2007, the newly built Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam was named after him.
Individual proof
literature
- Benjamin Mkapa , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 10/2006 of March 11, 2006, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mkapa, Benjamin William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Tanzanian politician, President of Tanzania (1995-2005) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 12, 1938 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Masasi |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 24, 2020 |
| Place of death | Dar es Salaam |