Patrick Amama Mbabazi (born 16 January 1949) is a senior Ugandan lawyer and politician. He has been Prime Minister of Uganda since 24 May 2011.[1] Prior to his current position, he served as the Minister for Security in the Ugandan Cabinet, from February 2009 until May 2011.[2] He also serves as the Secretary General of the National Resistance Movement political party a position he has held since November 2005.[3] [4] Amama Mbabazi also serves as the Member of Parliament for Kinkiizi West constituency in Kanungu District, a position he has held since 1996 after the promulgation of the Constitution.[5] Background He was born in Mparo village, Rukiga County, in present-day Kabale District.[6] Education Mbabazi holds a law degree, Bachelor of Laws (LLB), from Makerere University, obtained in 1975. He also holds the postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice obtained from the Law Development Center in Kampala. He is an Advocate of the Courts of Judicature of Uganda and a member of the Uganda Law Society since 1977. Professional career Prior to joining politics, he worked as State Attorney in the Attorney Generals Chambers, rising to the position of Secretary of the Uganda Law Council. Between 1986 and 1991 he served as Director General of the External Security Organization (ESO), being the first person to serve in that position. In 1994, he served as a delegate to the Constituent Assembly that drew up the 1995 Ugandan Constitution. He became the Chairman of the National Resistance Movement Delegates Caucus. He has also served as Minister of State in the Presidents office, in-charge of Political Affairs. Between 1986 and 1992 he was Minister of State for Defence. Subsequently, he served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of Regional Cooperation. In 2004, he was appointed as Attorney General and Minister of Justice. He held that portfolio until he was appointed Minister of Defence in 2006, a position he held until he was appointed Security Minister.[7] He served as Security Minister from February 2009 until May 2011, when he was appointed Prime Minister. He is the tenth Prime Minister in Ugandas history.[8] Mbabazi was accused in 2011 of receiving bribes as kickbacks from Irish oil firm Tullow Oil.[9] Despite a Parliamentary investigation being initiated into the matter and calls from MPs for him to resign along with others accused, a lawyer managed to successfully sue the Attorney General and halt the proceedings and to block the calls for resignation.[9] Following further suspicion around the incident as a result of Tullow Oil’s court case with Heritage Oil over its tax on Uganda assets, an ad hoc parliamentary committee was convened to further investigate the allegations of corruption.[10] In 2013, Ugandas Auditor General found that around $13 million of foreign aid had been funnelled into accounts linked to Mbabazis office, leading the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark to suspend foreign aid to Uganda.[11] Diplomacy Over the years, Amama Mbabazi has represented Uganda in international fora, including the United Nations Security Council, where he argued for the International Community to allow the Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) to pursue the Lords Resistance Army fighters beyond Ugandas borders.[12] He also represented Uganda at the signing of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement that resulted in the resolution of the Second Congo War
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 08:04:34 +0000
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