Although Julius Kambarage Nyerere served as the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania for over twenty years, he shunned the titles typically bestowed upon heads of state. Instead of Mtukufu (His Majesty) or Mheshimiwa (Honorable), Nyerere preferred the appellations of Mwalimu (Teacher) and Ndugu (Comrade). Nyerere refused to live in a palatial residence subsidized by his government, preferring his own small house for himself and his family.

He identified himself with the masses of impoverished Africans and his lifestyle mirrored the radically egalitarian social philosophy he articulated at the start of his long political career.

Nyerere was born in 1922 in colonial Tanganyika. He attended Makerere College in Uganda and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, studying history and economics. He taught at several Roman Catholic schools in Africa before be became president of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) in 1954. In 1955, Nyerere traveled to United Nations headquarters in New York City on behalf of TANU, agitating for the independence of Tanganyika, then part of the British Empire.

Tanganyika gained its independence in 1961, merging with the island of Zanzibar three years later to become the United Republic of Tanzania with Nyerere as President. Nyerere insisted that colonialism was at the root of Tanzania's severe economic and social problems. The Europeans "created a system of 'haves' and 'have-nots'" in what had been a "traditional African society of equals who knew no class" divisions. In 1967, Nyerere issued his famous Arusha Declaration outlining his socialist prescription for Tanzania.

Western critics accused Nyerere of supporting Communism because he pursued a policy of non-alignment throughout the Cold War. While he advocated both Pan-Africanism and Third World unity, Nyerere insisted that Tanzania socialism was not synonymous with Marxism-Leninism. Rather, it was centered upon the African concept of ujamaa, the Swahili word for "family-hood." Nyerere sought to eliminate the gap between rich and poor by organizing the countryside into self-sufficient agricultural cooperatives.

These new communities were designed to restore an egalitarian social order that encouraged both individual initiative and national economic growth. Yet, by the mid-1970s, it was clear that this program, characterized by forced resettlement and the occasional "use of extra-legal, coercive authority," was not working. In 1985, Nyerere retired from office, leaving Tanzania a one-party state and one of the poorest countries in the world.

Even though Nyerere did not bring wealth to his country, he focused on improving the quality of life for the masses. Tanzania's infant mortality rate plummeted, life expectancy increased, and literacy rates rose substantially for both men and women.

When Nyerere died in October 1999 Tanzanians recalled his legacy with pride. His administration marked a long period on internal stability within the new nation and his decision to relinquish his power peacefully established a constitutional precedent for the presidential succession process in Tanzania. Mwalimu Nyerere had upheld the importance of human as well as economic development.

Source from: The World's History: Spodek, 2001

Posted 2004 by AfroStaff