Amani Abeid Karume is a former president of Zanzibar

Zanzibar

Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...

. He held the office from 8 November 2000 to 3 November 2010. He is the son of Zanzibar's first president, Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume and a member of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi

Chama Cha Mapinduzi

The Chama cha Mapinduzi is the ruling political party of Tanzania.- History :The party was created February 5, 1977, under the leadership of Julius Nyerere as the merger of the Tanganyika African National Union , the then ruling party in Tanganyika, and the Afro-Shirazi Party , the then ruling...

 (CCM) party.

Early life and Career

Born in 1948, Karume was schooled at the Lumumba Secondary School until 1969 when he became an accountant. During the 1970s he held various positions in the Zanzibari government including Chief Treasurer (1970–1971), Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance (1971–1974), Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Planning (1974–1978), and Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Transport (1978–1980).

During the 1980s, he worked as a private consultant for a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

-based business in Zanzibar. Karume returned to government and politics in 1990 when he was elected to the Zanzibar House of Representatives from the Rahaleo constituency. In 1995, he was re-elected to that position in multiparty polls.

Political career

He entered politics in 1990, running for Rahaleo constituency as a Zanzibar Member of Parliament. He was thereafter nominated as the Minister of Trade from 1990-1995 by President Salim Amour. In 1995, he was re-elected for the same constituency and thereafter nominated as the Minister of Communication and Transportation.

Karume, running as CCM presidential

President of Zanzibar

The President of Zanzibar is the head of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, which is a semi-autonomous government within Tanzania. The current President is Ali Mohamed Shein. The President is also the chairman of the Revolutionary Council, whose members are appointed by the President, and...

 candidate for Zanzibar, won 67.04% of the vote in an October 2000 election marred by irregularities and criticized by international observers (although polling on mainland Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

 was generally praised). The controversy on the elections led to massive demonstrations, particularly in the island of Pemba where police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 opened fire on demonstrators, killing thirteen people.

He was re-elected in the 30 October 2005 election

Tanzanian elections, 2005

Tanzania held presidential and parliamentary elections on 14 December 2005. Originally scheduled for 30 October, the elections were postponed due to the death of a vice-presidential candidate. These polls were the third since the country returned to multiparty rule in 1992...

, winning 53.18% of the vote, in another contested election with many irregularities according to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission. Karume is married and is the father of six adult children. He is fluent in Swahili

Swahili language

Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...

 and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

.

In late 2009, after the years of reconciliation efforts between CCM and CUF under the framework of "Muafaka" failing, President Karume initiated peace talks with his counterpart, Sheif Shariff of the Civic United Front- CUF. It was the first time in the history of "democratic politics" of Zanzibar where the two leaders held dialogue to sought out a long lasting peace solution for the isles. The two leaders provided the opportunity to the Zanzibar people to decide on their future destiny and through a referendum conducted in July 2010, the Zanzibari people voted YES to a government of National unity. In Nov 2010, after the first internationally declared peaceful and fair democratic elections, President Amani Karume stepped down, handing over to President Mohammed Shein from the triumphant CCM party, leaving behind a legacy of peace, democracy and prosperity for the Zanzibari people.