Maria Emily Lubega Mutagamba (5 September 1952 – 24 June 2017) was a

Ugandan Demographic features of the population of Uganda include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others. Population According to the total population was in , comp ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and politician. She was the minister of tourism, wildlife and antiquities in the Ugandan Cabinet from 15 August 2012 until 6 June 2016. From 2011 to 2012, she was the minister of water and environment. She also served as the elected member of Parliament for

Rakai District Rakai District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Central Region, Uganda, Central Region of Uganda. The town of Rakai is the site of the district's headquarters. Location Rakai District borders Lyantonde District to the northwest, Lwengo Di ...

Women's Representative from 2001 until 2016.

Background and education

Mutagamba was born in Rakai District on 5 September 1952. She studied at St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School in Bwanda,

Kalungu District Kalungu District is a district in Central Uganda. It is named after the main town of the district, Kalungu, where the district headquarters are located. Location Mukoko North Kalungu District is bordered by Gomba District to the north, Buta ...

for her O-Level studies (1967–1970). She then attended

Mount Saint Mary's College Namagunga Mt. St. Mary's College Namagunga is an all-girl boarding secondary school located in Mukono District in Uganda. The school is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lugazi. Location The school is on the Kampala–Jinja Highway, approx ...

Mukono District Mukono is one of the districts in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Mukono serves as the district headquarters and is home to the district's main commercial center. Location Mukono District is bordered by Kayunga District to the nort ...

for her A-Level education (1971–1972). She attended

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

from 1973 until 1976, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in economics. She also held a Diploma in

computer programming Computer programming or coding is the composition of sequences of instructions, called computer program, programs, that computers can follow to perform tasks. It involves designing and implementing algorithms, step-by-step specifications of proc ...

from the ICL Computer School in

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi Riv ...

, obtained in 1980, and a certificate in executive leadership from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

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, obtained in 1997. In 2013, she was presented with an honorary doctorate in law by

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Career

Mutagamba served as a banking officer with the

Bank of Uganda The Bank of Uganda () is the central bank of Uganda. Established in 1966, by Act of Parliament, the bank is wholly owned by the government but is not a government department. History In 1979 and again in 1987, the Bank of Uganda managed to ma ...

from 1976 to 1980 and was a director of the bank from 1991 until 1999. She was a Constituent Assembly delegate between 1994 and 1995. In 1999–2000, she was the deputy secretary general of the Democratic Party of Uganda. In 2000, she was appointed minister of state for water resources and later in 2006 was appointed minister of water and the environment, a position she held until 2012. She was the President of the African Ministers' Council on Water from 2004 to 2012 and coordinator of the Global Women Leaders Forum for Water and Sanitation from 2005 to 2012. She also was vice chairperson of the United Nations Task Force on Integrated Water Resource Management. She was known for her works for the cause of water-related issues and the Global Water Harvesting Network. Mutagamba served as minister of tourism, wildlife and antiquities from 15 August 2012 until being replaced on 6 June 2016 by

Ephraim Kamuntu Ephraim Kamuntu is a Ugandan management scientist and politician. He has been the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in the Cabinet of Uganda since 14 December 2019. Previously, he served as Minister of Water and Environment from Aug ...

. While she was minister, she was known for promoting a popular Ugandan egg, vegetable, and chapati wrap known as

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

. She also revived the Miss Tourism Uganda beauty pageant that had started in 2010. She quit active politics in 2016 because of her deteriorating health.

Personal

She was married to Tarsis Matthew Mutagamba who worked for the Bank of Uganda for 17 years until his retirement in 1980. He was the first African chief accountant at the bank. Tarsis died from heart failure on 2 January 2004 at the age of 70. He was survived by 16 children.

Death

Mutagamba died on 24 June 2017 at

Case Medical Centre Case Medical Centre, also known as Case Hospital, is an urban, private, upscale, tertiary hospital in Kampala, the capital of Uganda and the largest city in that country. It is one of the few upscale private tertiary care hospitals in the city. ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

from complications of

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

, although she also suffered from

gallstone A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of ...

s. She was 64. She was admitted to hospital three weeks before her death. Prime Minister

Ruhakana Rugunda Ruhakana Rugunda (born 7 November 1947) is a Ugandan physician and politician who was Prime Minister of Uganda from 2014 to 2021. He held a long series of cabinet posts under President Yoweri Museveni beginning in 1986. He served as Uganda's M ...

called her death "a great loss to the country". She was buried on 28 June 2017 at Gamba village, Kakuuto Subcounty in Rakai District. The burial was officiated by John Baptist Kaggwa, the bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Masaka The Roman Catholic Diocese of Masaka () is a diocese located in the city of Masaka in the ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala, Kampala in Uganda. History * May 25, 1939: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Masaka ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutagamba, Maria 1952 births 2017 deaths Ganda women Ganda people People from Rakai District Makerere University alumni Ugandan economists Members of the 8th Parliament of Uganda Members of the 9th Parliament of Uganda Environment ministers of Uganda Tourism ministers of Uganda Water ministers of Uganda Democratic Party (Uganda) politicians National Resistance Movement politicians Deaths from cancer in Uganda Deaths from liver cancer 20th-century Ugandan women politicians 20th-century Ugandan politicians 21st-century Ugandan women politicians Women government ministers of Uganda Women members of the Parliament of Uganda