Mkapa, the journalist-turned president

Tanzania's former President Benjamin Mkapa, who served from 1995 to 2005, died in the early hours of Friday, according to President John Pombe Magufuli.

Mkapa was Tanzania's third president after Mwalimu Julius Nyeerere (1961-1985) and Ali Hassan Mwinyi (1985-199).

Magufuli says Mkapa died while receiving treatment at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, although he did not give the cause of death, after which he declared seven days of mourning in the country to last seven days.




Who was Mkapa?

Mkapa was born in 1938 in Ndanda, near Masasi in southern Tanzania. He studied at Makerere University, graduating with a degree in English in 1962.

After leaving Makerere University in 1962, armed with a bachelor degree in English, Mkapa returned to Tanzania, where he was appointed an administrative officer in Dodoma, an administrative hub.

Within one year, he had moved up to district officer and then foreign service officer. At that point, Mkapa travelled to the United States, where he attended Columbia University. In 1963, he was awarded a master's degree international affairs.

Mkapa took up journalism during the next several years. By 1966, he was managing editor of The Nationalist and Uhuru newspapers. That year, he married Anna Joseph Maro, a young administrative assistant. Six years later, he played the same role e for The Daily News and The Sunday News. In 1974, President Julius Nyerere recognized Mkapa's talents and potential and appointed him his press secretary; two years later Mkapa became the founding director of the Tanzania News Agency, Shihata (Shirika la habari Tanzania).

He also attended Columbia University in 1963 and was awarded a master's degree in international affairs.

He led the Tanzanian mission to Canada in 1982 and to the United States in 1983 to 1984. He served as foreign affairs minister under Nyerere from 1977 to 1980. He was again appointed to the same portfolio by Nyerere in 1984 and Mwinyi maintained him in the position when he became president in 1985. He served until 1990.

In 1995, Mkapa was elected as President of Tanzania in a campaign where former president and independence hero Nyerere backed him.

Mkapa's second five-year term of office as President ended in December 2005. During this term in office, Mkapa privatized state-owned corporations and instituted free market policies, which was a direct move from the economic policies pursued by his predecessors.

His supporters argued that attracting foreign investment would promote economic growth. His policies won the support of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and resulted in the cancellation of some of Tanzania's foreign debts.

Mkapa also served as a Trustee of the Aga Khan University from November 2007 until 2012.