President
Ali Hassan Mwinyi took which position from Nov 1985 to Nov 1995?
Ali Hassan Mwinyi Ali Hassan Mwinyi ( born 8 May 1925 in Kivure , Pwani Region , Tanzania ) is a Tanzanian politician who served as the second President of the United Republic of Tanzania from 1985 to 1995 . Previous posts include Interior Minister and Vice President . He also was chairman of the ruling party , the Chama Cha Mapinduzi ( CCM ) from 1990 to 1996 . During Mwinyis terms Tanzania took the first steps to reverse the socialist policies of Julius Nyerere . He relaxed import restrictions and encouraged private enterprise . It was during his second term that multi-party politics were introduced under pressure from foreign donors . Often referred to as Mzee Rukhsa ( Everything goes ) , he pushed for liberalization of morals , beliefs , values ( without breaking the law ) and the economy . Presidency . President Julius Nyerere retired in October 1985 and picked Ali Hassan Mwinyi to be his successor . Nyerere remained chairman of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi ( CCM ) , until 1990 , which would later cause tensions between the government and the party regarding economic reform ideology . When the transition of power took place , Tanzanias economy was in the midst of a slump . From 1974 to 1984 , the GDP was growing at an average of 2.6 percent per year while the population was increasing at a faster rate of 3.4% each year . Rural incomes and urban wages had both fallen by the early 1980s , despite Tanzanias minimum wage laws . Furthermore , the currency was overpriced , basic goods were scarce , and the country had over three billion dollars of foreign debt . Agricultural production was low , and the general opinion was that Nyereres Ujamaa socialist policies had failed economically . Such policies included the nationalization of major production , the forced re-villagization of the rural population into communal farms , and the banning of any opposition parties . Nyereres supporters were opposed to involving the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) and World Bank in domestic economic reforms , believing it would cause instability and conflict with their socialist values . Also , Tanzanias relationship with the IMF had been strained since Nyereres government failed to meet the loan conditions from a 1980 financial package agreement . Early in this political transition , many believed that Mwinyi was unlikely to deviate from Nyereres policies since he was viewed as a loyal supporter of his predecessor . However , Ali Hassan Mwinyi and his followers called for economic and political reform to liberalize the market and review traditional socialist ideologies . He surrounded himself with reformists , even replacing three cabinet members and other ministers who were opposed to change . The Prime Minister at the time , Joseph Warioba , along with the finance minister Clement Msuya were also quite supportive of new policies . During his first address to Tanzanias Parliament in 1986 , he promised to resume negotiations with the IMF and World Bank , assuming that any resulting agreement would be beneficial to the citizens of Tanzania . Agreements with International Financial Institutions . In 1986 , Mwinyi made an agreement with the IMF to receive a $78 million standby loan , which was Tanzanias first foreign loan in over six years . Bilateral donors approved this austerity plan , and agreed to reschedule Tanzanias debt payments . They agreed to do so for a period of five years , requiring that Tanzania pay only 2.5% of their debts in the meantime . In an interview , Mwinyi urged donor countries to use Canada as an example and write off Tanzanias debts all together . If this request wasnt possible , he asked instead for a minimum of ten years to pay off loans , but said that twenty to twenty-five years was a more ideal range . He predicted that by this time , the countrys economy would be recovered and they would be in a position to repay their debts without it hurting them . In the same interview , he also asked aid donors for lower interest rates . Mwinyi claimed that his negotiations with the IMF were on behalf of the people : for example , he agreed to the Funds request that he decrease the number of public institutions , but only when doing so was necessary and could be done gradually . Furthermore , he declined their recommendation to freeze pay raises within the government and to cut free public services . The following year , Mwinyi negotiated Tanzanias first structural adjustment facility ( SAF ) with the IMF , followed by subsequent agreements in 1988 and again in 1990 . In addition to these developments , the World Bank provided structural adjustment credits for reforms in the agricultural , industrial , and financial sectors . in 1989 , President Mwinyi began the second phases of his reform program with the intention of reforming social sectors , specifically by increasing government spending on education . Multi-Party Politics . In 1991 , the first stages of the transition towards multipartyism began when Mwinyi appointed Chief Justice Francis Nyalali to lead a commission to gage the amount of popular support for the current single-party system . This commission submitted their report to the President in 1992 , recommending that the government transition into a multi-party system . They made this recommendation despite the fact that only twenty-one percent out of the 36,299 Tanzanians who were interviewed favored this change . However , fifty-five percent of the seventy-seven percent who supported the current system were in favor of some sort of reform . Justice Nyalali pointed to twenty specific laws that were in need of revision in order to comply with the requirements of a multi-party system . Mwinyi supported their recommendation and the CCM Extraordinary National Party Conference ratified changes through constitutional amendments in February 1992 . However , not all twenty of these laws were revised , including the controversial Preventative Detention Act that was leftover from colonial times . Corruption . During the years of Julius Nyereres presidency , corruption was viewed as a sort of oppression that undermined Tanzanias egalitarian values . But , reports of corruption increased along with the states economic influence . Under Mwinyis presidency , corrupt practices worsened under his economically liberal policies . It became so endemic that some donors froze aid in 1994 in response . During the first multi-party election in 1995 , the opposition parties used the peoples resentments towards the ongoing corruption as political fuel . However , the CCM candidate Benjamin Mkapa was also able to use corruption in his favor , as he was viewed as untainted by any of the corruption scandals that marred the Mwinyi administration . 1993 Chavda Scandal . Brothers and well known businessmen V.G . Chavda and P.G . Chavda received a $3.5 million loan from a debt conversion program ( DCP ) in 1993 . They promised to use these funds to revamp rundown plantations in Tanga . This included upgrading worker housing , repairing old machines , and replanting farmland . They claimed their projects would create 1,400 jobs and would generate $42 million in foreign exchange money . In reality , they had diverted the funds outside of the country through the purchase of fake machines and parts . It was later uncovered that high ranking politicians had covered for them , including the Minister for Home Affairs , Augustine Mrema . They were able to evade prosecution . Mohamed Enterprises . In early 1995 , the well known company Mohamed Enterprises was accused of allegedly distributing food that was unfit for consumption . Mrema claimed he would punish the company , but was demoted to Minister of Youth and Culture before he could take action . He criticized Mwinyis administration for tolerating high levels of corruption and being complicit about anti-corruption enforcement . He was then removed from the cabinet , and later became a candidate for one of the opposition parties , NCCR-Mageuzi . Views on Apartheid . In a 1989 interview when asked about his views regarding Apartheid , Mwinyi advocated for tough , comprehensive sanctions to be carried out against South Africa . He also called for Western nations to assist frontline states in dealing with any destabilization attempts made by the South African government against those who oppose them . Mwinyi said that practicing these measures concurrently would help to dismantle Apartheid . He called the Reagan administrations hesitance to enact tougher sanctions a stumbling block , and expressed his hope that future American leaders would take more action against South Africas regime . Personal life . Ali Hassan Mwinyi married Siti Mwinyi in 1960 , with whom he has six sons and six daughters . In retirement , Ali Hassan Mwinyi has stayed out of the limelight and continues to live in Dar es Salaam . Legacy . Eponyms . - Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road , one of the major roads in Dar es Salaam - Ali Hassan Mwinyi Stadium , Tabora - Schools : - The Ali Hassan Mwinyi Islamic Secondary School in Tabora Region - The Mwinyi Secondary School in Pwani Region