Yoweri Museveni Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Here is a look at the life of Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda since 1986.

Personal

Birth date: August 15,1944

Birth place: Ntungamo, Uganda

Birth name: Yoweri Kaguta Museveni

Father: Amos Kaguta, a cattle keeper

Mother: Esteri Kokundeka

Marriage: Janet (Kataaha) Museveni (August 1973-present)

Children: one son, three daughters

Education: Dar Es Salaam University (Tanzania), B.A., Economics, 1970

Religion: Christian

Timeline

1970 – Returns to Uganda after college and works for Prime Minister Milton Obote.

January 25, 1971 – Goes into exile in Tanzania when Obote is overthrown by Idi Amin. While in Tanzania, forms the Front for National Salvation (FRONASA) with the purpose of overthrowing Amin.

April 1979 – FRONASA overthrows Amin and Museveni takes a position on the Military Commission, the newly formed government of Uganda.

1979-1980 – Minister of Defense, Uganda.

1981-1986 – Guerilla leader (National Resistance Army) in Uganda.

January 26, 1986 – Becomes president of Uganda after ousting the military regime of General Tito Okello. Is sworn in January 29.

May 1996 – Is elected president of Uganda with 74.2% of the vote in the first direct presidential election in Uganda since independence from Britain in 1962.

March 24, 1998 – US President Bill Clinton meets with Museveni in Uganda.

March 2001 – Is reelected president of Uganda with 69.3% of the vote.

May 6, 2002 – Meets with US President George W. Bush at the White House to discuss ways to get more Ugandan products into the US market.

July 11, 2003 – Bush meets with Museveni in Entebbe, Uganda, to speak about AIDS.

August 2005 – Uganda’s parliament removes presidential term limits.

February 25, 2006 – Museveni is declared the winner of Uganda’s first multi-party presidential election. It is his third term in office.

August 2006 – The Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army sign a truce aimed at ending 20 years of civil war in the country. The war has killed tens of thousands and displaced two million people.

October 30, 2007 – Museveni meets with Bush at the White House.

November 2010 – Museveni releases a song and accompanying music video, “U Want Another Rap?” as part of his reelection campaign.

November 29, 2010 – Museveni takes a surprise trip to Somalia, making him the first head of state to visit in almost 20 years, according to the African Union Mission for Somalia.

February 20, 2011 – Uganda’s electoral commission declares Museveni the president with 68% of the vote. It is his fourth term in office.

February 24, 2014 – Museveni signs into law a controversial bill that toughens penalties against gay people and makes some homosexual acts crimes punishable by life in prison. During the bill signing, he declares that he will not allow the West to impose its values on Uganda.

July 31, 2015 – Museveni says he will seek his fifth term as president in 2016 elections, 30 years after assuming the office for the first time.

February 20, 2016 – Uganda’s election commission declares Museveni the winner, with nearly twice as many votes for president as his closest competitor, opposition leader Kizza Besigye. Besigye was put under “preventative arrest” on February 19 at his home in Kampala, along with six officials from his party. Besigye’s party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) rejects the results and demands an independent audit of the elections.

May 12, 2016 – Museveni is sworn in for his fifth term as president.

July 11, 2016 – Facebook photos of Museveni sitting in a lawn chair by the roadside making a phone call in Kyeirumba Village, Uganda, go viral, inspiring an online meme.

July 27, 2018 – A Ugandan constitutional court ruling upholds a December 2017 constitutional amendment to remove the presidential age limit, likely allowing Museveni to rule for life. The article limited anyone from serving as president past the age of 75.

July 24, 2019 – Bobi Wine, a 37-year-old Ugandan pop star, announces he is running against Museveni, who has been in power for 33 years.

August 26, 2019 – A Harvard student sues Museveni for blocking him on Twitter arguing that being blocked has prevented him from giving feedback to the official’s account about government policies on Twitter.

April 9, 2020 – Museveni releases a home workout video in order to encourage Ugandans to stay home during the country’s coronavirus lockdown.

May 20, 2020 – The High Court in Kampala rules that Museveni and other officials have a right to block people on their private Twitter handles.

January 16, 2021 – Uganda’s election commission declares Museveni the winner of the presidential election. It is his sixth term in office.

May 12, 2021 – Museveni is sworn in for his sixth term as president.

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