Statecraft & Independence
Landmark
Benjamin Mkapa
1938 – 2020
Tanzania's third president, who rebuilt the economy after the socialist decades
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Tanzania Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
President from 1995 to 2005, a journalist and diplomat before that, who stabilised an economy in crisis, cleared debt and left office after two terms. He spent his retirement mediating other countries' conflicts.
Benjamin William Mkapa edited the Nationalist and the Daily News, served as Tanzania's ambassador to Nigeria, Canada and the United States, and was foreign minister before winning the country's first multiparty presidential election in 1995.
Over ten years he brought inflation down from the thirties to single figures, restored growth, and negotiated debt relief that freed money for schooling and health. He stepped down at the end of his second term as the constitution required, and spent his later years mediating in Kenya after the 2007 election violence and in Burundi. He died in 2020.
Over ten years he brought inflation down from the thirties to single figures, restored growth, and negotiated debt relief that freed money for schooling and health. He stepped down at the end of his second term as the constitution required, and spent his later years mediating in Kenya after the 2007 election violence and in Burundi. He died in 2020.
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