Uganda

Uganda, 1963 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda gained independence in 1962, with Milton Obote as the first prime minister. Obote was overthrown in a military coup in 1971 by Idi Amin, who subsequently ruled the country under a brutal dictatorship until he was overthrown in 1979 during the Uganda–Tanzania War. Obote returned to power following the controversial 1980 Ugandan general election, prompting a six-year guerrilla war, ending with the victory of Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement in 1986.

Seat of power: Kampala

Rulers

Muteesa II of Buganda

President of Uganda, 1963–1966

Mutesa II was a Ugandan royal and statesman who served as the first president of Uganda until he was overthrown by Milton Obote in 1966. Mutesa was also the Kabaka (King) of the traditional kingdom of Buganda in Uganda from 22 November 1939 until his death in 1969.

Portrait of Muteesa II of Buganda: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Milton Obote

President of Uganda, 1966–1971

Obote overthrew Mutesa in 1966, declared himself president, and established a dictatorial regime with the UPC as the sole official party in 1969. As president, Obote implemented ostensibly socialist policies, under which the country suffered from severe corruption and food shortages.

Portrait of Milton Obote: Warren K. Leffler, Public domain, file

Idi Amin

President of Uganda, 1971–1979

Idi Amin was a Ugandan military officer and dictator who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until his overthrow in 1979. International observers and human rights groups estimate that between 100,000 and 500,000 people were killed under his regime. In 1972, Amin expelled Asians, a majority of whom were Indian-Ugandans, leading India to sever diplomatic relations with his regime.

Portrait of Idi Amin: Bernard Gotfryd, Public domain, file

Godfrey Binaisa

President of Uganda, 1979–1980

Godfrey Binaisa was a Ugandan lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of Uganda from 20th June 1979 to 12th May 1980. He came to power following the overthrow of Idi Amin and the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) transition period.

Yusuf Lule

President of Uganda, 1979–1979

Yusuf Lule was a Ugandan professor and politician who served as the fourth president of Uganda between 13 April and 20 June 1979, following the overthrow of Idi Amin during the Uganda-Tanzania War. He was also the first black Principal of Makerere University.

Milton Obote

President of Uganda, 1980–1985

Obote was re-elected in an election reported to be neither free nor fair in 1980, a year after Amin's 1979 overthrow. His second period of rule ended after a long and bloody conflict known as the Ugandan Bush War during which he was overthrown a second time by another coup d'état in 1985 led by Tito Okello.

Portrait of Milton Obote: Warren K. Leffler, Public domain, file

Paulo Muwanga

President of Uganda, 1980–1980

Paulo Muwanga served briefly as de facto president, and later as prime minister, of Uganda. On 12 May 1980, the army overthrew Binaisa and installed a six-man Military Commission headed by Muwanga.

Tito Okello

President of Uganda, 1985–1986

Tito Lutwa Okello served as the president of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986. In July 1985, together with Bazilio Olara-Okello, Tito Lutwa Okello staged the coup d'état that toppled President Obote.

Bazilio Olara-Okello

President of Uganda, 1985–1985

In 1985, Olara-Okello was briefly the chairman of the ruling Military Council and de facto head of state of Uganda. Between 27 and 29 July 1985, Olara-Okello was Chairman of the Military Council, and de facto head of state.

Yoweri Museveni

President of Uganda, 1986 to today

Museveni is a Ugandan politician and former rebel leader who has served as the president of Uganda since 1986. On 30 January 1986, after the decisive Battle of Kampala, Museveni was sworn as president. Museveni has long been widely considered to be a dictator, with political parties being effectively banned from 1986 to 2005, and the use of political repression, lawfare and ballot stuffings to maintain power since the 2005 Ugandan multi-party referendum.

Portrait of Yoweri Museveni: DFID - UK Department for International Development, CC BY-SA 2.0, file

Culture

After a military coup on 25 January 1971, Obote was deposed from power and General Idi Amin seized control of the country. An estimated 80,000–500,000 Ugandans died during his regime.
Parliament abolished presidential term limits in 2005, allegedly because Museveni used public funds to pay US$2,000 to each member of parliament who supported the measure.
Museveni has ruled the country since 1986. He was last re-elected in the January 2026 presidential elections.

Picture

Kampala is the capital and largest city of Uganda.

Image: Chapelle musa, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.