In news–The Prime Minister of India has paid tributes to former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere on his 100th birth anniversary and said the principles of unity and equality that he advocated are as relevant today as ever.
Who is Julius Nyerere?
- Nyerere, who was born on April 13, 1922 and passed away on October 14, 1999, was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist.
- He was the first prime minister of independent Tanganyika (1961), first president of Tanzania (1964–85), and the major force behind the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) (now African Union).
- As leader of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), he advocated peaceful change, social equality, and ethnic harmony.
- As president he collectivised village farmlands, carried out mass literacy campaigns, and instituted universal education.
- He sought to make Tanzania economically self-sufficient, an effort that ultimately failed.
- In 1979 he authorised the invasion of Uganda to overthrow Idi Amin.
- Within the OAU he advocated the overthrow of white-suprematist governments in South Africa, Rhodesia, and South West Africa.
- After retiring from politics in 1990, Nyerere devoted the rest of his life to farming and diplomacy.
African Union(AU) –
- It was officially launched in 2002 in Durban, South Africa as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).
- The AU is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent.
- AU was established as a result of the Sirte Declaration.
- Four summits which led to formation AU were:
- The Sirte Extraordinary Session (1999) decided to establish an African Union
- The Lome Summit (2000) adopted the Constitutive Act of the Union.
- The Lusaka Summit (2001) drew the road map for the implementation of the AU
- The Durban Summit (2002) launched the AU and convened the 1st Assembly of the Heads of States of the African Union.
- The AU is guided by its vision of “An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”
- It is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- Burkina Faso’s membership was suspended by the African Union in the aftermath of a military coup in January 2022.
Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/african-union-au/
Source: The New Indian Express
