Tom Mboya
Tom Mboya | |
|---|---|
%22%3E%3Ctext%20x%3D%2250%25%22%20y%3D%2250%25%22%20text-anchor%3D%22middle%22%20dominant-baseline%3D%22middle%22%20fill%3D%22%2354595d%22%20font-size%3D%2216%22%20font-family%3D%22sans-serif%22%3EPhotograph%20of%20Tom%20Mboya%3C%2Ftext%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) Mboya in 1962 | |
| Minister of Economic Planning and Development | |
| In office December 1964 – 5 July 1969 | |
| President | Jomo Kenyatta |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs | |
| In office June 1963 – December 1964 | |
| Prime Minister | Jomo Kenyatta |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Charles Njonjo (1980) |
| Minister of Labour | |
| In office April 1962 – June 1963 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Ngala Mwendwa |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 1963 – 5 July 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Maina Wanjingi |
| Constituency | Nairobi Central |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 August 1930 Kilima Mbogo, British East Africa (present-day Kenya) |
| Died | 5 July 1969 (aged 38) Nairobi, Kenya |
| Resting place | Tom Mboya Mausoleum |
| Party | KANU (from 1960) |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 5, including Susan |
| Alma mater | Ruskin College |
alma_mater which should be merged with/replaced by education.Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya (15 August 1930 – 5 July 1969) was a Kenyan politician and labour leader. He was one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya. He led the negotiations for independence at the Lancaster House Conferences and was instrumental in the formation of Kenya's independence party – the Kenya African National Union (KANU) – where he served as its first Secretary-General. He laid the foundation for Kenya's capitalist and mixed economy policies at the height of the Cold War and set up several of the country's key labour institutions. Mboya was Minister for Economic Planning and Development when he was assassinated.
Mboya's intelligence, charm, leadership, and oratory skills won him admiration from all over the world. He gave speeches, participated in debates and interviews across the world in favour of Kenya's independence from British colonial rule. He also spoke at several rallies in the goodwill of the Civil Rights movement in the United States. In 1958, at the age of 28, Mboya was elected Conference Chairman at the All-African Peoples' Conference convened by Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. He helped build the Trade Union Movement in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as well as across Africa. He also served as the Africa Representative to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). In 1959, Mboya called a conference in Lagos, Nigeria, to form the first All-Africa ICFTU labour organization.
Mboya worked with both John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. to create educational opportunities for African students, an effort that resulted in the Kennedy Airlifts of the 1960s enabling East African students to study in American colleges. Notable beneficiaries of this airlift include Wangari Maathai. In 1960, Mboya was the first Kenyan to be featured on the front page cover of Time magazine in a painting by Bernard Safran.