Who is Jakaya Kikwete? - Tanzania's head of state on his way to Jamaica

Nadisha Hunter, Gleaner Writer

Political stalwart, Jakaya Kikwete, the man who is to pay Jamaica a state visit in a few days, is one of a new generation of African leader championing a free market, stronger ties to the West and the ultimate unification of Africa.

Graduating with a degree in economics in the mid-1970s, Kikwete opted for a low-paying job as an executive functionary officer in The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Party of the Revolution in Swahili), Tanzania's ruling party. This gave him the opportunity to work at the grass-roots level.
Kikwete sharpened his leadership acumen in the military, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. From 1984 to 1986, Kikwete was chief political instructor and political commissar at the military academy.

Full-time politician

Kikwete retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel, when he chose to become a full-time politician.
In elective party politics, Kikwete started shining in 1982, when he was overwhelmingly elected to be a member of the National Executive Committee. This is the highest policy and decision-making body of a party.

He has won re-elections to the body every five years since then. Kikwete moved from one position to another in the party ranks. He was made member of parliament and deputy minister for energy and minerals and was promoted to full minister responsible for the ministry of water, energy and minerals.

At age 44, he became one of the youngest finance ministers in the history of Tanzania. At the Treasury, he established discipline in public finance management and accountability. He is remembered for establishing a cash-budget system and revamping revenue-collection structures, methods and institutions.

He later became minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, a position he held for ten years, until he was elected the fourth president of the United Republic of Tanzania in 2005.

Deeply involved

During his tenure in foreign affairs, Tanzania played a significant role in bringing about peace in the Great Lakes region. Kikwete was also deeply involved in the process of rebuilding regional integration in East Africa.

He is a keen sportsman, having played basketball competitively in school. He has been a patron of the Tanzania Basketball Federation for the past 10 years. He is married to Salma Kikwete, and together, they have eight children.

So far, Kikwete's government has received accolades across the country and in the donor community for fighting corruption and investing in people, particularly in education.

Kikwete's small East African country is largely agricultural. In fact, agriculture accounts for more than half of Tanzania's GDP, providing approximately 85 per cent of exports, and employs 80 per cent of the workforce.

Tourism is also a promising sector for the country, with a number of new hotels and resorts having been built in recent years.

Politics in Tanzania takes place in a framework of a unitary presidential democratic republic, whereby the president of Tanzania is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system.

nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com