Kenya - Head of Government

HE Mr Mwai Kibaki won a second term in office as President of Kenya after the victory of the Party of National Unity coalition in the December 2007 election. He served his first term in office on 30 December 2002 following the election victory of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) Party.

Before this, Mr Kibaki was Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2002 and also served as a Member of the House Business Committee during this period.

In 1998, he headed the Democratic Party which he co-founded in 1991. Mr Kibaki was a Member and Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee from 1997 to 2002.

He became Minister of Health in 1988. Prior to this, Mr Kibaki was Minister of Home Affairs and National Heritage from 1983 to 1988.

While serving as Vice-President in 1978, Mr Kibaki was concurrently Minister of Finance and Economic Planning until 1983. He was first appointed to the portfolio in 1970.

Mr Kibaki was Leader of Government Business and Chairperson of the Sessional Committee from 1978 to 1988. During this period, he also served as Vice-President of the Kenya African National Union (KANU).

Mr Kibaki took on the post of Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1965 to 1969.
From 1963 to 1965 he served as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

Mr Kibaki was elected to Parliament in 1963 on the KANU ticket after embarking on a political career in 1960 as the Executive Officer of KANU.

Before entering politics, he was an Assistant Lecturer at Makerere University, Uganda, from 1958 to 1960.

Mr Kibaki has a Bachelor’s degree (Hons, 1st class) in Public Finance from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor’s degree (Hons, 1st class) in Economics from Makerere University, Uganda.

Mr Kibaki was born on 15 November 1931 in Othaya, Nyeri, Kenya.