Abeid Karume

Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume (1905–1972) was the first President of Zanzibar. He obtained this title as a result of a popular revolution which lead to the deposing of the last Sultan in Zanzibar during January 1964. Three months later, the United Republic of Tanzania was founded as Tanzania, prompting Karume to become the first vice-president of the United Republic along with Julius Nyerere of Tanganyika as president.

Early career

Born in 1905 at the village of Mwera, Karume had little formal education and worked as a seaman before entering politics. He left Zanzibar in the early years of his life, returning in early 1939 fearing the start of World War II. During his travels Karume acquired a great understanding of geopolitics and international affairs. Spending a number of years in London allowed him to gain exposure to the African problem at the same time as other African leaders, such as Kamuzu Banda of Malawi. Karume developed an apparatus of control through the expansion of the Afro Shirazi Party and its relations with Tanganyika's TANU party.

Revolution in Zanzibar

On December 10, 1963, the United Kingdom granted full independence to Zanzibar under the assumption that it would be ruled by the Sultan and the Arab elite. Initial elections gave government control to the Arab-dominated Zanzibar National Party, despite Karume's Afro Shirazi Party having won a slight majority of the popular vote. Karume was willing to work within the electoral framework of the new government, and actually informed a British police officer of the revolutionary plot set to take place in January. Karume was not in Zanzibar on January 12, 1964 - the night of the revolution. It is now widely believed that the instigator of the rebellion was a previously unknown Ugandan, John Okello. The revolution was violent, short, and the revolutionaries prevailed. Thousands of Arabs were killed, with relatively few casualties on the revolutionary side.

Power Struggle

Having taken control of the island, John Okello invited Abeid Karume back to the island to assume the title of President. Other Zanzibaris in foreign territorry were also invited back, most notably the marxist politician Abdulrahman Mohammad Babu, who was appointed to the Revolutionary Council. John Okello reserved for himself the title of "Field Marshal", a position with undefined power. What followed was a three month long internal struggle for power. Karume used his political skills to align the leaders of neighboring African countries against Okello, and invited Tanganyikan police officers into Zanzibar to maintain order. As soon as Okello took a trip out of the country, Karume declared him an enemy of the state and did not allow him to return. GIven the presence of Tanganyikan police and the absence of their leader, Okello's gangs of followers did not offer any resistance. Karume's second stroke of political genius came when he agreed to form a union with Tanganyikan president Julius Nyerere in April 1964. The union ensured that the new country, to be called Tanzania, would not align itself with the Soviet Union and communist bloc, as A.M. Babu had advocated. Given the new legitimacy of Karume's government (now solidly backed up by mainland Tanganyika,) Karume marginalized Babu to the point of irrelevance. The Marxist leader was eventually forced to flee Tanzania after being charged with masterminding the assassination of Karume in 1972.

Record as President

Karume is often criticized for the atrocities that were carried out against Arabs and Asians after the revolution. It is hard to ascertain the role Karume played personally, but the numbers are bleak. The American diplomat to Zanzibar, Donald Petterson, estimated "that by the end of summer of 1965, Zanzibar's prerevolution Arab population of 50,000 had been halved". This was due primarily to emigration - both forced and willingly - but also to massacres and executions. Arab businesses and clove plantations were nationalized and redistributed to black Africans. "I still find hard to reconcile the man who had showed me many kindnesses and courtesies while I was in Zanzibar with the sometimes cruel despot who emerged during his eight-year reign," Donald Petterson wrote of Karume. Karume remained President of Zanzibar until his assassination on 7 April 1972. Reprisals followed against people suspected to have been opposed to Karume's regime. Amani Abeid Karume, Sheikh Abeid's son, is the current president of Zanzibar, having been elected in 2000 and 2005 by a popular majority.