Foreign Minister

Stephen Mhando, was appointed by President Nyerere as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1969 to 1970). He was appointed as a Member of Parliament (MP) through the ‘President’s special appointee’ selection.

The ministry of external affairs was created in 1964 with the assistance Stephen Mhando upon the request of President Julius Nyerere. The ministry of external affairs had been set up following Tanganyika independence in 1961, but until 1963, it was a department of the prime minister’s office with Oscar Kambona as the first minister. The name of the ministry has been changed three times since 1975, first to foreign affairs and then to the Ministry Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Now it is called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation.