Speciosa Naigaga Wandira Kazibwe (born 1 July 1954) is 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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and first female vice president in Africa. She was the sixth

vice president of Uganda The vice president of Uganda is the second-highest executive official in the Ugandan government. The vice president is appointed by the president. Vice presidents of Uganda References Works cited * * See also *President of Uganda *Pr ...

from 1994 to 2003, making her the first

woman A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

to hold the position of vice president of a sovereign nation. Kazibwe is also a

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 ...

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

. She is also referred to as "Nnalongo", because of her twins. In August 2013, she was appointed by

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

as United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Background and education

Speciosa Kazibwe was born in

Iganga District Iganga District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Iganga is the site of the district headquarters. Location Iganga District is bordered by Kaliro District to the north, Namutumba District to the northeast, Bugweri Dist ...

on 1 July 1954. She 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 ...

, a prestigious all-female boarding high school affiliated with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, located on the Kampala-Jinja Highway, near the town of

Lugazi Lugazi is a town in the Buikwe District of the Central Region of Uganda. The town is also called "Kawolo", and the two names are interchangeably used by the local inhabitants. Location The town is on the Kampala-Jinja Highway, approximately ...

. In 1974 she entered

Makerere University School of Medicine The Makerere University School of Medicine (MUSM), also known as the Makerere University Medical School, is the school of medicine of Makerere University, Uganda's oldest and largest public university. The medical school has been part of Makerer ...

, where she studied human medicine, graduating with the

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

degree in 1979. She later obtained the degree of

Master of Medicine Master of Medicine (MMed, MM) is a postgraduate professional clinical degree awarded by medical schools to physicians following a period of instruction, supervised clinical rotations, and examination. As of May 2009, the following universities ...

, also from Makerere University Medical School, specializing in

General Surgery General surgery is a Surgical specialties, surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and Abdomen, abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, Appendix (anatomy ...

. In 2009, she was awarded the degree of

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(SD), by

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

, Department of Population and International Health.

Career

Kazibwe began her political career as a chairperson of halls of residence at Makerere University Kampala (1975–76), the equivalent of a university guild president, which had been abolished by then-President Idi Amin Dada. She later became a member of the youth and women's wings of the Ugandan Democratic Party. She won her first election as a village leader, on the ticket of the

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement (; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla war through its rebel wing National ...

(NRM) in 1987. She was later elected Women's Representative for

Kampala District 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 cons ...

and became chairperson of the Advisory Committee for Museveni's election campaign. She first began serving the administration of

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 ...

in 1989, when she was appointed Deputy Minister for Industry, a post she held until 1991. From 1991 until 1994, she served as Minister for Gender and Community Development. She was a member of the Constitution Assembly which drafted Uganda's new constitution in 1994. In 1996, she was elected Member of Parliament for the constituency of Kigulu South in

. From 1994 to 2003, Kazibwe served as Uganda's vice president and as Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. Kazibwe has been an advocate for women in

. In collaboration with the

Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; , OUA) was an African intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and ec ...

and the

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; , CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states (the nations of the Africa, African contin ...

, she founded the African Women Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD) in 1998, an organization she has also chaired. The objective of AWCPD is to help enable women's participation in peace and development processes on the continent. Kazibwe has also been chair or a member of various national interest groups, including: * The Senior Women's Advisory Group on the Environment * The Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited * The Uganda Women Doctors Association * Agri-Energy Roundtable Uganda (AER/U) Kazibwe chaired the inaugural conference of the AER/Uganda on 25 November 1991 at the Kampala Sheraton and also served on the Committee of Honour of the Agri-Energy Roundtable (AER) for several years, gaining wide recognition. In 1998, the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

(

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

) awarded her the Ceres Medal for her "contribution to food security and poverty eradication".

Personal details

In April 2002, Kazibwe filed for divorce from her husband, saying that she refused to be the victim of continued

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

. Polygamy and wife beating are relatively common in Uganda, but divorce is relatively rare. Her husband opposed the divorce, citing his Catholic faith, and saying that his wife had come home late without giving a proper explanation, and had joined with some other politicians he did not like. Finding it difficult to perform her political duties and deal with the increasingly messy divorce case, on Wednesday, 21 May 2003, Kazibwe stepped down from her positions in government, asking to be allowed to continue her studies. She completed a doctorate at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. She has four children, including twins from her first marriage, and has adopted several others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazibwe, Specioza Vice presidents of Uganda 1954 births Living people Soga people Democratic Party (Uganda) politicians Makerere University alumni National Resistance Movement politicians People from Iganga District Politicians from Eastern Region, Uganda Ugandan public health doctors Agriculture ministers of Uganda Industry ministers of Uganda Fisheries ministers of Uganda 20th-century Ugandan women politicians 20th-century Ugandan politicians 21st-century Ugandan women politicians 21st-century Ugandan politicians Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni Women government ministers of Uganda People educated at Mount Saint Mary's College Namagunga Fellows of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa Women vice presidents in Africa Ugandan surgeons Ugandan women surgeons 21st-century Ugandan women scientists 21st-century Ugandan scientists Special Envoys of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Women public health doctors