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of progress towards independence. In the elections held in 1958–59, Nyerere,
through TANU, won many seats in the Legislative Council. In a subsequent
election in August 1960, his party won 70 out of 71 seats in Tanganyika’s
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new Legislative Assembly. Progress towards independence owed much to the
understanding and mutual trust that developed during negotiations between
Mwalimu Nyerere and the British governor, Sir Richard Turnbull.
“We, the people of Tanganyika, would like to light a candle and

put it on top of Mount Kilimanjaro to shine beyond our borders,
giving hope where there was despair, love where there was hate
and dignity where before there was only humiliation.”

J.K. Nyerere in the Legislative Council

22nd October, 1959

As a result of the dedication of Mwalimu Nyerere and many others, Tanganyika

finally gained responsible self-government in September 1960, and Mwalimu
J. K. Nyerere became the Chief Minister at that time. Tanganyika became
independent on December 9, 1961, with Nyerere as its first Prime Minister.
The next month, however, he resigned from this position to devote his time to
writing and synthesising his views on government and African unity. One of

Mwalimu J. K. Nyerere’s most important works was a paper called “Ujamaa
-The Basis for African Socialism,” which later served as the philosophical
basis for the Arusha Declaration (1967). When Tanganyika became a republic

in 1962, he was elected president, and in 1964, he became the president of the
United Republic of Tanzania (Tanganyika and Zanzibar).

Mwalimu Nyerere was re-elected president of Tanzania in 1965 and returned
to serve three more successive five-year terms before declining to stand for

election again in 1985. He handed over to his elected successor, Ali Hassan
Mwinyi.

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