Yoweri Museveni

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was born on 15 August 1944, in Ntungamo, Uganda, in a Banyankole family of cattle herders. He grew up with a brother, Calbe Akandwanaho and sister, Violet Kajubiri.

Museveni attended Kyamate Elementary School, Mbarara High School and Ntare School. He became a born-again Christian during his high school years.

In 1967, Museveni moved to Tanzania to begin studies at the University of Dar es Salaam, where he went on to study political science and economics, gaining his bachelor’s degree in 1970.

In 1970, Museveni joined the Ugandan intelligence service, serving President Dr. Apolo Milton Obote.

In 1971, during the military coup led by Major General Idi Amin, Museveni fled Uganda for Tanzania along with many other figures from within the deposed government, including former President Obote.

During Amin’s rule, Museveni sided with exiled resistance forces in Tanzania. While living there in exile, he also briefly served as a lecturer in a co-operative college in Moshi, in northern Tanzania.

In 1973, Museveni shifted his allegiances, leaving the most mainstream groups in opposition of Obote and forming the Front for National Salvation.

Between 1981 and 1986, during the Ugandan Bush War, Museveni and his allies moved to the rural southern regions of Uganda and formed the Popular Resistance Army. Together, they organized a rebellion aimed to overthrow the Obote regime and the Obote-backed Uganda National Liberation Army.

Under Museveni’s rule the Ugandan economy has stabilised to a large extent. He has been able to combat key problems, such as hyperinflation and balance of payments to a considerable extent.