Who was the third president of Tanzania?

Benjamin William Mkapa. He won the first multi-party election in 1995 and served two terms, from 23 November 1995 to 21 December 2005.

Where was Benjamin Mkapa from?

He was born at Ndanda, near Masasi, in Mtwara Region in the far south of Tanzania, and is buried at Lupaso, also near Masasi.

When did Benjamin Mkapa die?

On 23 July 2020, in Dar es Salaam, at the age of 81.

Benjamin Mkapa

A diplomat and foreign minister from the far south who won Tanzania's first multi-party election in 1995, and whose government privatised state companies and won the cancellation of about three billion dollars of debt.

Edited by Kabeer Dalvi · Updated 13 October 2026

Benjamin Mkapa at the World Economic Forum on Africa in 2010.

Born: 12 November 1938, Ndanda, Mtwara
President: 23 November 1995 – 21 December 2005
Order: Third president
Party: CCM
Died: 23 July 2020, Dar es Salaam

01Government

Early life and education

Benjamin William Mkapa was born on 12 November 1938 at Ndanda, near Masasi, in today's Mtwara Region. He took a degree in English at Makerere University in Uganda in 1962 and a master's in international affairs at Columbia University in New York the following year.

02Government

Diplomat and minister

Mkapa spent most of his career in foreign affairs. He was minister of foreign affairs twice, from 1977 to 1980 and from 1984 to 1990, and in between headed Tanzania's missions to Canada (1982) and the United States (1983–84).

He then served as minister for information and broadcasting (1990–92) and for science, technology and higher education (1992–95), before CCM chose him as its candidate for president.

03Government

As president

Mkapa won the first multi-party general election, held on 29 October 1995, and was sworn in on 23 November 1995. He was re-elected in 2000.

His government sold or closed hundreds of state-owned companies and, in November 2001, secured the cancellation of about $3 billion of Tanzania's foreign debt. Those years are told on the multi-party era.

President Mkapa with India's president, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, in Dar es Salaam, September 2004.

The Mkapa Bridge over the Rufiji river, on the road from Dar es Salaam to Lindi and Mtwara.

04Government

After office

Mkapa left office on 21 December 2005 after two terms. He remained active abroad: in 2007–08 he was a member of the African Union panel that mediated an end to the violence after Kenya's election of December 2007.

He died in Dar es Salaam on 23 July 2020, aged 81, and is buried at Lupaso, near Masasi.

Benjamin Mkapa at a UNCTAD meeting in December 2011.

Common questions

Who was the third president of Tanzania?: Benjamin William Mkapa. He won the first multi-party election in 1995 and served two terms, from 23 November 1995 to 21 December 2005.
Where was Benjamin Mkapa from?: He was born at Ndanda, near Masasi, in Mtwara Region in the far south of Tanzania, and is buried at Lupaso, also near Masasi.
When did Benjamin Mkapa die?: On 23 July 2020, in Dar es Salaam, at the age of 81.