Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa (born 22 December 1960) is a Tanzanian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Tanzania since 2015. He was appointed by President John Magufuli after the 2015 general election. He is a member of the ruling

Chama Cha Mapinduzi The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, ) is the dominant, ruling party in Tanzania and the second longest-ruling party in the history of Africa, only after the True Whig Party of Liberia. It was formed in 1977, following the merger of the Tanganyika A ...

party and has been a Member of Parliament for Ruangwa.

Early life and education

Majaliwa was born into a Muslim family on 22 December 1960 in Mnacho village, Ruangwa District of

Lindi Region Lindi Region (''Mkoa wa Lindi'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Sr ...

. He completed his schooling from Kigonsera Secondary School in 1983. He then worked as a teacher for sixteen years until 1999. Meanwhile, he obtained a teaching diploma from Mtwara Teacher Training College in 1993 and a Bachelor of Education from the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (Swahili: ''Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam'') is a public university located in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. ...

in 1998. He then joined the trade union movement and served as district secretary and regional secretary of the Tanzania Teachers' Association between 1999 and 2006. He was tapped to become the district commissioner for Urambo district in 2006. He remained in this role until his election to the Parliament in 2010.

Political career

Majaliwa was first elected to Parliament in the 2010 general election on the

ticket from Ruangwa. He was Deputy Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office for Regional Administration and Local Government from 2010 to 2015. In the 2015 general election, Majaliwa was reelected from Ruangwa, defeating Omari Makota of the

Civic United Front The Civic United Front (CUF; , ) is a liberal party in Tanzania. Although nationally based, most of the CUF's support comes from the Zanzibar islands of Unguja and Pemba. The party is a member of Liberal International. History The Civic United ...

by a margin of 31,281 to 25,536 votes, taking 55% of the vote. After John Magufuli was sworn in as President of Tanzania following the 2015 general election, he appointed Majaliwa as prime minister on 19 November 2015. His appointment was a surprise, even to himself, given he was a relative newcomer to electoral politics. His selection was attributed to his humility, honesty, work ethic as well as regional considerations - the new prime minister was expected to be from the southern part of the country, where Majaliwa is from. His experience in education as a teacher, trade unionist and deputy minister was also expected to be an asset in President Magufuli's stated desire to reform the sector. The opposition criticized his selection, citing his lack of experience.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Majaliwa, Majaliwa K. 1961 births Living people Prime ministers of Tanzania Chama Cha Mapinduzi MPs Tanzanian MPs 2010–2015 Tanzanian MPs 2015–2020 Tanzanian MPs 2020–2025 Deputy government ministers of Tanzania Kigonsera Secondary School alumni University of Dar es Salaam alumni Tanzanian schoolteachers Tanzanian Muslims