Philip Mpango

Philip Isdor Mpango (born 14 July 1957) is a Tanzanian economist and politician who serves as the Vice-President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Philip Mpango
11th Vice-President of Tanzania
Assumed office
31 March 2021
PresidentSamia Suluhu
Preceded bySamia Suluhu
15th Minister of Finance
In office
November 2015 – 30 March 2021
PresidentJohn Magufuli
Samia Suluhu
Succeeded byMwigulu Nchemba
Member of the Parliament of Tanzania
In office
2015–2021
Appointed byJohn Magufuli
ConstituencyNone (nominated) (until 2020)
Buhighwe (until 2021)
Personal details
Born (1957-07-14) 14 July 1957
Kigoma Region, Tanzania
Nationality Tanzania
Political partyChama Cha Mapinduzi
SpouseMbonimpaye Mpango

He was sworn into office on 31 March 2021, following unanimous consent of the Tanzanian Parliament, and having been nominated by President Samia Suluhu on 30 March 2021.[1][2] Before that, he served as the Minister of Finance and Planning in the Tanzanian Cabinet, from March 2015 until 30 March 2021.[3]

Early life and education

Mpango was born on 14 July 1957 in Tanzania's Kigoma Region. After attending primary and middle school locally, he transferred to Ihungo High School in Bukoba, where he completed his A-Level education, graduating with the equivalent of a high school diploma.[4]

Mpango studied at the University of Dar es Salaam, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Arts degree, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree, all in Economics.[4] He did some of his PhD course work at Lund University in Sweden.[5]

Early career

Mpango previously held positions as the acting commissioner general of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), the executive secretary in the President's Office (Planning Commission), the deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance & Economic Affairs, the personal assistant to the president (economic affairs), the head of the President's Economic Advisory Unit, and as a senior economist for the World Bank.[3][4]

Political career

Mpango was nominated by president John Magufuli to serve as a member of the Tanzanian parliament.[5] The constitution allows the president to nominate up to ten members of parliament.[6]

On 23 December 2015, President John Magufuli appointed Mpango as Minister of Finance and Planning.[7][lower-alpha 1] In 2020, Magufuli reappointed him to the office.[9] Mpango has been credited with improving the Tanzanian economy by an average of 6 to 7 percent during his five years as finance minister.[10]

During the coronavirus pandemic, after Seif Sharif Hamad, First Vice President of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, had died after contracting the virus,[11] [12][13] and after President Magufuli had admitted that Tanzania had a coronavirus problem,[14] Mpango "appeared coughing and gasping at a press conference" that was held to address rumors that he had died of the coronavirus, shocking many and drawing widespread condemnation.[15][16]

President Magufuli's subsequent death was announced on 17 March 2021, resulting in Vice-President Samia Suluhu being sworn in as his successor on 19 March 2021, and her nomination on 30 March 2021 of Mpango to the vice-presidential office that she had vacated.[1][17]

At the time he was confirmed for the position of vice-president, in March 2021, he was the incumbent MP for the constituency of Buhigwe in Kigoma Region of northwest Tanzania.[1] According to the laws of the country, once he was appointed VP, he ceased to be an MP and his parliamentary seat fell vacant.[1] Mpango has stated that he planned to combat corruption and continue implementing major infrastructure projects, including a new standard gauge railway.[10]

Other activities

Notes
  1. Due to his position as Tanzania's finance minister, Mpango has also held a number of positions ex officio, including as a member of the Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, as an ex-officio member of the board of governors of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, ex officio member of the board of governors (from 2015 until 2021) and as an ex-officio member of the board of governors of the Trade and Development Bank from 2015 until 2021. He also served as an ex officio member of the governing council of the East African Development Bank (EADB), during his tenure as Finance Minister of Tanzania.[8]

References
  1. The Citizen Tanzania (31 March 2021). "Philip Mpango named Tanzania's new Vice President" (Daily Monitor Quoting The Citizen (Tanzania)). Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  2. The Citizen Tanzania (30 March 2021). "President Suluhu Picks Philip Mpango For Vice President" (The EastAfrican Quotig The Citizen (Tanzania)). The EastAfrican. Nairobi. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala, George Obulutsa and Mark Trevelyan (23 December 2015). "Former World Bank economist Mpango named Tanzanian finance minister". Reuters.com.
  4. Chebet Birir (30 March 2021). "Phillip Mpango Appointed Tanzanian Vice President". The Standard (Kenya). Nairobi. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  5. Parliament of Tanzania (1 April 2021). "The Republic of Tanzania: Parliament of Tanzania: Hon. Dr. Philip Isdor Mpango, Nominated Member". Dodoma: Parliament of Tanzania. Archived from the original (Archived from the original on 1 April 2021) on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  6. Parliament of Tanzania (1 April 2021). "Structure of the Parliament of Tanzania". Dodoma: Parliament of Tanzania. Archived from the original (Archived from the original on 1 April 2021) on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  7. Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala, George Obulutsa and Dominic Evans (23 December 2015). "Tanzania appoints Philip Mpango as Finance minister - president's spokesman". Reuters.com. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  8. EADB (31 March 2021). "Governing Council of East African Development Bank". Kampala: East African Development Bank (EADB). Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  9. Elias Biryabarema and Omar Mohammed (13 November 2020). "Tanzania's re-elected leader keeps finance minister Mpango in new govt". Reuters.com. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  10. Bloomberg (30 March 2021). "Tanzania President Names Finance Minister Mpango as Deputy". Bloombergquint.com. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  11. Kizito Makoye (31 January 2021). "Zanzibar's first vice president, wife contract virus". Antakya, Hatay, Turkey: Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  12. News Agencies (17 February 2021). "Zanzibar Vice President Seif Sharif Hamad dies". AlJazeera.com. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  13. Aboubakar Famau (17 February 2021). "Zanzibar's Seif Sharif Hamad dies weeks after getting Covid". London, United Kingdom: British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  14. Associated Press (21 February 2021). "Tanzania's president admits country has COVID-19 problem". New York City: Associated Press. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  15. AFP (25 February 2021). "Alarm as ill, coughing Tanzanian minister gives press conference" (Daily Monitor Quoting Agence France-Presse (AFP)). Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  16. Al Jazeera (24 February 2021). "Condemnation as coughing Tanzanian minister gives news conference". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  17. The Citizen Tanzania (30 March 2021). "President Suluhu nominates Philip Mpango as Tanzania's new VP" (Daily Nation Quoting The Citizen (Tanzania)). Daily Nation. Nairobi. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  18. 2020 Annual Report African Development Bank (AfDB).
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