Africa has seen leaders with their own distinct personalities, character and philosophy. This initiative has been underway for the last 2 years where 10 historians and writers are taking part. We intend to narrate the life of prominent African personalities, with the primary intention of introducing historical figures who have transformed the lives of Africans one way or another, for current and future generations.
The personalities to be included are leaders, politicians, writers, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, educators, and others. Although we will try to focus on those who had positive contributions, we will also include those who were notorious for their negative impact on humanity and land. The list is presented on chronological order.
Derartu Tulu born 21 March 1972 is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner, who competed in track, cross country running, and road running up to the marathon distance. She won 10,000 metres titles at the 1992 Barcelona and 2000 Sydney Olympics, and a bronze in the event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
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Eliud Kipchoge EGH born 5 November 1984[2]) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance.
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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.[1]
Sirleaf was born in Monrovia to a Gola father and Kru-German mother.
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Wangari Maathai is a Kenyan social, environmental and political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift she studied in the United States, earning a Bachelor’s Degree from Mount St. Scholastica and a Master’s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She went on to become the first woman in East and Central Africa to become a Doctor of Philosophy.
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Meles Zenawi was an Ethiopian soldier and politician who ruled Ethiopia as president from 1991 to 1995 and as prime minister from 1995 until his death in 2012. He was considered the founder of ethnic federalism, which is followed in modern Ethiopia.
After leading the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to victory in the Ethiopian Civil War, he served as president of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995.
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Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalized racism and fostering racial reconciliation.
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Idi Amin was a Ugandan military officer who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979 and de facto military dictator. He is considered one of the most brutal despots in world history
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Patrice Lumumba was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first Prime Minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from June until September 1960.
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Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957.
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Baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም sahlä maryam) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913 and King of Shewa from 1866 to 1889. At the height of his internal power and external prestige, the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state was completed by 1898.
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