[UAH] Museveni, Yoweri (born 1944), Revolutionary, President

Museveni, Yoweri (born 1944), Revolutionary, President

Author:	Ari Nave
Publisher:	Oxford Oxford University Press
Edition/Format:	Encyclopedia article : English
Database:	African American Study Centre
Summary:	Many modern African leaders have come to power through military force. Few, however, have gone on to win as much international praise for their diplomacy and good governing as Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda since 1986.Museveni's political career began when he was a student helping country people from Rwanda who were living in Uganda to organize against forced relocation. In 1967 Museveni entered Dar es Salaam University in Tanzania. He became president of the University Students' African Revolutionary Front (USARF) and befriended many future African leaders. Later Museveni traveled to recently liberated areas in northern Mozambique, gaining firsthand experience in guerrilla warfare with the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO). Later he returned to Uganda and worked in the administration of Milton Obote. When Idi Amin overthrew the Obote government, Museveni fled to Tanzania and formed a guerrilla group called the Front for National Salvation (FRONASA). Museveni joined the Tanzanian forces when they invaded Uganda and expelled Amin in 1979.After serving in two short-lived governments, Museveni ran for president in 1980, but Obote won the election by a wide margin. Claiming that the elections were fraudulent, Museveni helped form the National Resistance Movement/Army (NRM/A). Disillusioned by Obote's thirst for power above all else, the NRM/A launched a campaign to undermine the Obote regime, particularly through the sabotage of transportation and communication. To conserve his limited troops, Museveni tried to avoid direct confrontations with Obote's soldiers. By the beginning of 1983 the NRM/A controlled a large area outside the capital city of Kampala, and its ranks swelled to several thousand volunteers.In 1985 Obote fled when one of his generals, Tito Lutwa Okello, marched on Kampala. Okello remained in power only a short while, however. NRM/A troops began an offensive against his supporters. Fighting continued until NRM/A troops finally invaded Kampala in January 1986.Museveni became president in 1986 and immediately outlawed opposition parties. In 2002 the country's parliament passed a law that allowed other parties to operate within Uganda, but only his own party is allowed to sponsor candidates for election. Called the Movement, it is descended from the NRM, and Museveni is its chairman. He has denied accusations that Uganda has become a one-party state. Instead, he says, he has created a "no-party" state in which candidates may run for office as individuals. His approach to leadership stresses democratic processes and respect for human rights, but it allows no multiparty politics. Arguing that Western-style political parties in Africa only foster ethnic and religious conflict, he has instead focused on decentralizing and democratizing the structure of Uganda's government, creating village-level councils for a degree of grassroots participation. To promote national unity, Museveni has also restored Uganda's traditional monarchies, although each king has ceremonial powers only.Museveni came to power as a believer in the economic theories of African socialism, but he has closely followed the market reforms called for by international financial institutions. Although many Ugandans remain extremely poor, the country's rapid economic growth in the 1990s earned Museveni's practical economic policies high praise from the World Bank and other international donors. In addition, many Asians expelled by Idi Amin have accepted Museveni's invitation to return to Uganda and reclaim their properties, restoring energy to the country's manufacturing, trade, and commercial farming. Museveni has also received praise from the international community for his administration's highly successful campaign against Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which has reduced the rate of infection by two-thirds.Ugandans reelected Museveni to the presidency in 1996 and again in 2001. The relative peace under Museveni's leadership has won him broad support from Ugandans, even if his human rights record is still criticized by international organizations such as Amnesty International. He also faces ongoing challenges from rebel groups, particularly in the poorer northern and eastern regions of Uganda. So, like Ugandan presidents before him, Museveni has relied on his military force to remain in power. In addition, although he has reduced the size of the armed forces, he has given military support to regional allies.Although Museveni's willingness to use military force has raised concern in the international community, it has earned him considerable respect within Africa, where he has already once chaired the Organization of African Unity. However, Museveni supported rebels attempting to overthrow the government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which took up a lot of his time and tarnished his image as an African leader. State-sponsored violence only increased in the early 2000s, and corruption remained a serious problem, with Museveni facing increased criticism for inaction. The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria suspended some grants due to alleged financial mismanagement, which reversed gains made earlier by Museveni. In 2005, he retired from the army to fight "new battles."Museveni has written several books, including an autobiography and compilations of his presidential speeches and essays on obstacles to African development.See also Structural Adjustment in Africa.  Read less

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