Maria Kiwanuka
Maria Kiwanuka is a Ugandan economist, businesswoman and politician who served as Minister of Finance in the Cabinet of Uganda from 27 May 2011 to 1 March 2015. Since 2015 she has been Senior Advisor to the President of Uganda on financial matters, responsible for the Bretton Woods Institutions. Overview. Prior to her appointment to cabinet, she was the managing director of "Radio One" and "its sister station Radio Two known locally as Akaboozi FM", in Uganda, in which her family owns majority shareholding. She also served as a non-Executive board member on the board of directors  of the Aga Khan Foundation (East Africa), the Nabagereka Development Trust, Nkumba University, Uganda Development Bank and Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited. She served on the board of Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited from 2009 until 2011. After serving as the chairperson of the board of directors at United Bank for Africa Uganda Limited, for a number of years, Maria was appointed to the board of Standard Chartered Uganda in May 2021. Background and education. She was born in Kampala, the capital of Uganda on 12 May 1955. Maria Kiwanuka attended Gayaza High School, a prestigious all-girls boarding high school, located  about , by road, northeast of Kampala, graduating in 1973. In 1974 she entered Makerere University, Uganda's oldest institution of higher education. She graduated in 1977 with the degree of Bachelor of Commerce (BCom). She later pursued further education at the London Business School in the United Kingdom, graduating with the degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA). Work experience. Beginning around 1980, she worked for more than ten years with the World Bank, as an Economist and Financial Analyst for the East Asian and Southern African regions. Specifically she covered projects in Burma, Malawi, Swaziland and Uganda. After she  left the World Bank, she returned to her native Uganda and went into private business. Together with members of her family, she founded businesses in the areas of broadcasting, publishing, real estate and economic consulting. She has served as a financial adviser to the Nabagereka of Buganda since the early 2000s. In a cabinet reshuffle on 1 March 2015 she was dropped from Cabinet and appointed Senior Financial Advisor to the President. Personal details. Maria Kiwanuka is married to Mohan Kiwanuka, the managing director of "Oscar Industries Limited". In 2007, four years prior to Maria Kiwanuka's being appointed Finance  Minister, her husband was listed as one of the wealthiest people in Uganda.