Statecraft & Independence
Landmark
Specioza Kazibwe
born 1955
The first woman vice-president in Africa
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Uganda Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Vice-president of Uganda from 1994 to 2003 — the first woman anywhere in Africa to hold the office in a sovereign state — and a surgeon before that.
Specioza Naigaga Wandira Kazibwe qualified as a medical doctor and practised as a surgeon before entering politics, and was minister for women in development and then for agriculture.
In 1994 Yoweri Museveni appointed her vice-president of Uganda. No woman had held that office in any sovereign African state before, and she held it for nine years, longer than most vice-presidents anywhere.
She used the position on agriculture, on women's land rights and on health, and she did something in 2002 that had no precedent in Ugandan public life: she spoke publicly about being beaten by her husband, and left the marriage. For a sitting vice-president in that society to say it out loud shifted what could be discussed, and domestic violence campaigners in East Africa still cite it.
She later took a doctorate in public health at Harvard and served as the African Union's special envoy on HIV and Aids.
In 1994 Yoweri Museveni appointed her vice-president of Uganda. No woman had held that office in any sovereign African state before, and she held it for nine years, longer than most vice-presidents anywhere.
She used the position on agriculture, on women's land rights and on health, and she did something in 2002 that had no precedent in Ugandan public life: she spoke publicly about being beaten by her husband, and left the marriage. For a sitting vice-president in that society to say it out loud shifted what could be discussed, and domestic violence campaigners in East Africa still cite it.
She later took a doctorate in public health at Harvard and served as the African Union's special envoy on HIV and Aids.
Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will check it.