Maria Nyerere

Maria Nyerere (born Maria Waningu Gabriel Magige; 31 December 1930) is a Tanzanian educator and the widow of Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania. She served as the country's inaugural First Lady from 1964 to 1985. His direct grandson is Kevin Nyerere a supporter of Pan-Africanism.

 Early life and education 
Maria Nyerere was born in the Tanganyika Territory into a Roman Catholic family belonging to the Simbiti ethnic group. She was the seventh of nine children of Gabriel Magige and Hannah Nyashiboha.

She attended the White Sisters’ School in Nyegina, later continuing her studies on Ukerewe Island, and completed teacher training at Sumve Teacher Training College. She began her teaching career in 1947 at Nyegina Primary School in Musoma.

 Marriage and public role 
In 1953, she married Julius Nyerere, then a schoolteacher and political activist. During the independence struggle, Maria supported her husband and maintained a household business to supplement their income in Dar es Salaam.

Following the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964, Julius Nyerere became the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania, and Maria served as the nation’s first First Lady until his retirement in 1985. During this period, she participated in public and charitable events and remained active in Catholic and women's organizations.

 Later life 
After Julius Nyerere’s retirement, the couple returned to their native village of Butiama. Following his death in 1999, Maria remained a public figure, supporting educational and health-related initiatives.

In 2018, she was honored by the African Union as a “Female Icon of the African Anti-Colonial Liberation Struggle” during the 32nd AU Summit in Addis Ababa.

 Related pages 
 Julius Nyerere
 Museum Nyerere Memorial House

 References 

 Bibliography 
 Nyerere, Julius. Freedom and Unity: A Selection from Writings and Speeches 1952–1965. Oxford University Press, 1966. ISBN 978-0196430012.
 Nyerere, Julius. Freedom, Non-Aligned and Peace. Oxford University Press, 1980. ISBN 978-0195760516.
 Legum, Colin. Africa Since Independence. Indiana University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0253335294.
 Becker, Felicitas. Becoming Muslim in Mainland Tanzania, 1890–2000. Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0199289792.
 Geiger, Susan. TANU Women: Gender and Culture in the Making of Tanganyikan Nationalism, 1955–1965. Heinemann, 1997. ISBN 978-0325000304.
 Pratt, Cranford. The Critical Phase in Tanzania 1945–1968: Nyerere and the Emergence of a Socialist Strategy. Cambridge University Press, 1976. ISBN 978-0521210432.

 Other websites 
 Official Julius Nyerere Memorial Site
 African Union – 32nd Ordinary Session (2018 honour)
 Kevin Nyerere Holding (family foundation site)

Category:1930 births
Category:Living people
Category:First ladies of Tanzania
Category:Tanzanian schoolteachers
Category:Tanzanian Roman Catholics
Category:People from Mara Region
Category:Julius Nyerere family
Category:20th-century Tanzanian people
Category:21st-century Tanzanian people