Reuben Kiplagat Chesire (27 March 1941 - 15 November 2008) was a prominent Kenyan politician who served as an
MP for
Eldoret North Constituency and cabinet minister from 1988 to 1997.
Chesire was born on 27 March 1941 in
Kabarnet,
Baringo County, the son of Isaiah Chemwetich Chesire and Elizabeth Kobilo Chesire. They grew up with the late former
President of Kenya, H.E Hon
Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, a relative who lived with the Chesire's family for most of his childhood.
He attended Kapropita Primary School and in 1960 the
Royal Technical College Nairobi
Nairobi is the Capital city, 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 language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, leaving in 1962 after successfully passing his
A-levels. He was appointed as the District Officer (DO) in
Kwale later that year. He was the youngest DO ever in Kenya at the age of 21. In 1972, Chesire was elected the first African Chairman of the Kenya Farmers Association. Between 1973 and 1981 he served as the chairman of the African Tours and Hotels, which was listed on the
Nairobi Securities Exchange. He also chaired the boards of the Kenya Dairy Board, Industrial Development Bank, ICDC amongst many others.
A passionate farmer and livestock breeder, he is regarded a ‘mid wife’ figure to Kenya’s agriculture sector having pioneered many reforms in the agriculture sector during his term as KFA chairman and later as the Minister of Livestock.
His Ayrshire dairy herd at Makongi Farm is world renowned and he is distinguished as having served as President of the
Ayrshire breeders societies worldwide.
In the
1988 Kenyan general election
General elections were held in Kenya on 21 March 1988. At the time the county was a one-party state with the Kenya African National Union as the sole legal party. The size of the National Assembly was expanded from 158 to 188 seats prior to the ...
he was elected as the
member of parliament for
Eldoret North Constituency, located in the former
Uasin Gishu County, representing the
Kenya African National Union. He was subsequently re-elected at the
1992 Kenyan general elections. He lost his seat to the current president
William Samoei Ruto in the
general elections
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
held in December 1997.
He unsuccessfully challenged Ruto for the Eldoret North Constituency at the
2002 Kenyan general elections.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chesire, Reuben Kiplagat
1941 births
2008 deaths
Kenya African National Union politicians
Members of the National Assembly (Kenya)
University of Nairobi alumni
Uasin Gishu Politicians