The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1997/The_Epic_Interactive_Encyclopedia_97.iso/t/tanzania/infotext

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United Republic of (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa
Tanzania) area 945,000 sq km/364,865 sq mi
capital Dodoma towns chief port Dar es Salaam
physical a central plateau with lakes in the
west and coastal plains features comprises
the islands of Zanzibar and nearby Pemba;
Mount Kilimanjaro, called `shining mountain',
because of the snow and glaciers which crown
it (Kibo, an extinct volcano and its highest
peak, is the highest mountain in Africa 5,895
m/19,347 ft); parts of Lakes Victoria and
Tanganyika; Serengeti National Park, and the
Olduvai Gorge; Ngorongoro Crater 14.5 km/9 mi
across and 762 m/2,500 ft deep head of state
and government Ali Hassan Mwinyi from 1985
government system one-party socialist
republic political parties Revolutionary
Party of Tanzania (CCM), African, socialist.
exports coffee, cotton, sisal, cloves from
Zanzibar, tea, tobacco currency Tanzanian
shilling (327.80 = 1 Mar 1990) population
(1989) 24,746,000; annual growth rate 3.5%
life expectancy men 49, women 53 language
Kiswahili, English (both official) religion
Muslim 35%, Christian 35%, traditional 30%
literacy 78% male/70% female (1978) GNP $4.9
bn (1983); $225 per head of population
chronology 1961 Tanganyika achieved full
independence, within the Commonwealth, with
Julius Nyerere as prime minister. 1962
Tanganyika became a republic with Nyerere as
president. 1964 Tanganyika and Zanzibar
became the United Republic of Tanzania with
Nyerere as president. 1967 East African
Community (EAC) formed. Arusha Declaration.
1977 Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (CCM)
proclaimed the only legal party. EAC
dissolved. 1979 Tanzanian troops sent to
Uganda to help overthrow the president, Idi
Amin. 1984 Nyerere announced his retirement
but stayed on as CCM leader. Prime Minister
Edward Sokoine killed in a road accident.
1985 Ali Hassan Mwinyi elected president.

2.
Country in E Africa, on the Indian Ocean,
bounded to the north by Uganda and Kenya, to
the south by Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia,
and to the west by Zaire, Burundi, and
Rwanda. government The 1977 constitution made
Tanzania a one-party socialist republic with
the Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (CCM).
The president is chosen by the party to serve
a maximum of two five-year terms. The
president appoints two vice presidents from
members of the National Assembly and if the
president comes from the mainland, the first
vice president must come from Zanzibar. The
second vice president is termed prime
minister. The president also appoints and
presides over a cabinet. The single-chamber
National Assembly has 243 members: 118
directly elected by universal suffrage for
the mainland, 50 for the islands of Zanzibar
and Pemba, 25 regional commissioners, 15
nominated by the president and 35 indirectly
elected, to represent specific sections,
including women and party organizations.
history For early history, see Africa.
Zanzibar was under Portuguese control during
the 16th-17th centuries. In 1822 it was
united with the nearby island of Pemba. It
was a British protectorate 1890-1963, when it
became an independent sultanate; an uprising
followed and the sultan was overthrown 1964.
Tanganyika was a German colony 1884-1914,
until conquered by Britain during World War
I; it was a British League of Nations mandate
1920-46 and came under United Nations (UN)
trusteeship 1946-62. It achieved full
independence, within the Commonwealth, in
1961, with Julius Nyerere as prime minister.
He gave up the post some six weeks after
independence to devote himself to the
development of the Tanganyika African
National Union (TANU) but in Dec 1962, when
Tanganyika became a republic, he returned to
become the nation's first president. Tanzania
was founded by the union of Tanganyika and
Zanzibar in Apr 1964. Nyerere became
president of the new United Republic of
Tanzania and dominated the nation's politics
for the next 20 years, being re-elected in
1965, 1970, 1975, and 1980. Known throughout
Tanzania as Mwalimu (teacher), he established
himself as a Christian socialist who
attempted to put into practice a philosophy
that he believed would secure his country's
future. He committed himself in the Arusha
Declaration of 1967 (the name comes from the
N Tanzanian town where he made his historic
statement) to building a socialist state for
the millions of poor peasants through a
series of village cooperatives (ujamas).
Nyerere became one of Africa's most respected
politicians. In the final years of his
presidency economic pressures, domestic and
international, forced him to compromise his
ideals and accept a more capitalistic society
than he would have wished, but his
achievements have included the best public
health service on the African contin nt,
according to UN officials, and a universal
primary school system. Relations between
Tanzania and its neighbours have been
variable. The East African Community (EAC) of
Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, formed in 1967,
broke up in 1977, and relations between
Tanzania and the more capitalistic Kenya
became uneasy. In 1979 Nyerere sent troops to
support the Uganda National Liberation Front
in its bid to overthrow President Idi Amin.
This enhanced Nyerere's reputation but
damaged his country's economy. Tanzania also
supported the liberation movements in
Mozambique and Rhodesia. In 1977 TANU and the
Afro-Shirazi Party of Zanzibar merged to
become the Revolutionary Party of Tanzania
(CCM) and this was made the only legal
political organization. Nyerere retired from
the presidency at the end of 1985 but
remained as CCM chair. The president of
Zanzibar, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, was adopted as
the sole presidential candidate by the CCM
congress in Dec 1985.