Miria Obote (née Kalule; born 16 July 1936) is a Ugandan politician who was first lady of

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, and widow of former Prime Minister and President

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan politician who served as the second prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and the second president of Uganda from 1966 to 1971 and later from 1980 to 1985. A Lango, ...

. She was a candidate in the 2006 Ugandan general election.

Background and Education

Miria Kalule was born in Kawempe, to Bulasio Kalule, a civil servant who worked with the Department of Road Maintenance in the Ministry of Works and his wife Malita. She attended

Gayaza High School Gayaza High School is the oldest all-girls boarding secondary school covering grades 8 to 13 (Secondary 1 to 6) in Uganda. The school is Church of Uganda, Church-founded, government of Uganda, government-aided and accredited by the Ministry of Ed ...

and later

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 ...

. Miria Obote returned to Uganda from Zambia in October 2005, after 20 years in exile, to bury her husband. Two months later, she was elected as head of th
Uganda People's Congress
(UPC) and as its presidential candidate for the next election. The UPC was founded by her husband and led by him until his death. She garnered 0.6% of the vote in the February 23, 2006 presidential election, which was won by the sitting president,

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

Personal life

Miria married

in November 1963 and they had 4 children, including Jimmy Akena, a Member of Parliament representing Lira Municipality. Milton Obote died on 10 October 2005 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, at the age of 79; and received a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

Kampala, Uganda Kampala (, ) is the 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, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa, and Rubaga. Kampala's metropolitan area consi ...

, attended by President Yoweri Museveni.

References

Walking in Obote’s shadow
''The Monitor'', December 21, 2005. 1936 births Living people First ladies of Uganda Uganda People's Congress politicians 21st-century Ugandan women politicians 21st-century Ugandan politicians Makerere University alumni People educated at Gayaza High School {{Uganda-politician-stub