Kalu Idika Kalu (born 14 October 1939) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

politician. He was

finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

twice, minister of national planning and transportation minister. He was a presidential aspirant in the 2003 Nigeria general elections under the platform of The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Early life

Kalu was born in Owerri,

Imo state Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

, southeastern Nigeria. He is from Ebem Ohafia in Abia state Nigeria. He is from Ibo tribe in Nigeria. He studied at Kings College Lagos from 1954 to 1960 where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Economics in 1964. Kalu also obtained a Masters of Arts in Economics in 1965, as well as a Doctorate Degree in economic development and public finance in 1972 from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He was a Stimson Fellow while attending

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Career

He was a founding member of the Justice Party, but ran for president on the platform of NNPP during the

2003 Nigerian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Nigeria on 19 April 2003. The result was a victory for incumbent Olusegun Obasanjo of the People's Democratic Party, who defeated his closest opponent Muhammadu Buhari by over 11 million votes. Voter turnout ...

. He participated in research work on developing countries and lectured at university level. While at the World Bank East Asia and

Pacific Programs Department The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, Kalu contributed significantly to micro- and macro-economic work on the economies of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. He held various official positions in Nigeria and outside Nigeria including: * Commissioner for finance andplanning in Imo State * Minister of finance * Minister for national planning *

Minister of transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

* Chairman,

ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...

Council of Ministers * Chairman, development committee of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

He is a member of the

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, t ...

(APC), joining after leaving the People Democratic Party (PDP), as he believes in the emergency of a strong two party system in Nigeria.

Personal life

He married Imo Kalu, with whom he had five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalu, Kalu Idika King's College, Lagos alumni Living people 1939 births Finance ministers of Nigeria All Progressives Congress politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians