Ali Hassan Mwinyi

Ali Hassan Mwinyi (8 May 1925 – 29 February 2024) was a Tanzanian politician who served as the second president of the United Republic of Tanzania from 1985 to 1995.

Previous posts included Minister for Home Affairs and Vice President.

Mwinyi was born on 8 May 1925 in the village of Kivure, Pwani Region, where he was also raised.

He then moved to Zanzibar and got his primary education at Mangapwani Primary School in Mangapwani, Zanzibar West Region.

Mwinyi then attended Mikindani Dole Secondary School in Dole, Zanzibar West Region.

From 1945 to 1964 he worked successively as a tutor, teacher, and head teacher at various schools before deciding to enter national politics.

Concurrently, Mwinyi earned his General Certificate of Education through correspondence (1950–1954) and then studied for a teaching diploma at the Institute of Education at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

He did not leave England until 1962, being appointed principal of Zanzibar Teaching Training College in Zanzibar West Region, upon his return.

From 1974 to 1984, the GDP was growing at an average of 2.6% 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 Tanzania's 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 Nyerere's 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.

Nyerere's 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, Tanzania's relationship with the IMF had been strained since Nyerere's 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 Nyerere's policies since he was viewed as a loyal supporter of his predecessor.

He 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 Cleopa Msuya were also quite supportive of new policies.

President Julius Nyerere retired in October 1985 and picked Ali Hassan Mwinyi to be his successor.

During his first address to Tanzania's 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.

In 1986, Mwinyi made an agreement with the IMF to receive a $78 million standby loan, which was Tanzania's first foreign loan in over six years.

Bilateral donors approved this austerity plan and agreed to reschedule Tanzania's 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 Tanzania's debts all together.

If this request was not possible, he asked instead for a minimum of ten years to pay off loans, but said that 20 to 25 years was a more ideal range.

He predicted that by this time, the country's 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 Fund's 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 Tanzania's 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 phase of his reform program by continuing to liberalise trade and exchange rates and expanding reforms to include reforms in the banking system, agricultural marketing, the parastatal sector, government administration, the civil service and social sectors.

He also was chairman of the ruling party, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) from 1990 to 1996.

During Mwinyi's 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 for reform from foreign and domestic sources.

Often referred to as Mzee Rukhsa ("everything goes"), he pushed for liberalization of morals, beliefs, values (without breaking the law), and the economy.

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, Tanzania's economy was in the midst of a slump.