Godfrey Binaisa
| Godfrey Binaisa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 5th President of Uganda | |
|
In office 20 June 1979 – 12 May 1980 |
|
| Preceded by | Yusuf Lule (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Paulo Muwanga |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
30 May 1920 Kampala, Uganda |
| Died | 5 August 2010 (aged 90) Kampala, Uganda |
| Political party |
UNC (1952-1962) UPC (1962-1980) UPM (1980-1986) URM (1986-2010) |
| Other political affiliations |
UNLF (1979-1980) |
| Spouse(s) |
Irene Marjorie Kabamori (?-2003) Tomoko Yamamoto (2004–2005) |
| Profession | Lawyer, Politician |
Godfrey Lukongwa Binaisa QC (30 May 1920 – 5 August 2010) was a Ugandan lawyer who was Attorney General of Uganda from 1962 to 1968 and later served as President of Uganda from June 1979 to May 1980. At his death he was Uganda's only surviving former president.
Born in Kampala, Binaisa was initially a lawyer. He was educated at King's College Budo and Makerere College. He then earned a LLB in law from King's College London in 1955 and was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1956. He was appointed a Queen's counsel (QC) and had a private law practice in Kampala.
Binaisa was a member of the political parties Uganda National Congress and United Congress Party during the 1950s. He later joined Uganda People's Congress which in 1962 formed the first post-independence government of Uganda. He was appointed the Attorney General in 1962, a position in which he served until 1968, when he resigned over disagreements with President Milton Obote concerning constitutional matters, particularly the presidential powers of detention.
In 1969 Binaisa went into private legal practice, and after Idi Amin took power in 1971, he went into exile first to the United Kingdom where in London he was employed by the London office Graham and James, an international maritime law firm. Following that he came to the United States, where he served as a "paralegal" at the main office of Graham and James in San Francisco. After his presidency ended he returned to London for a time and then ultimately practised law in Mount Vernon, New York. While in the US, he became a member of Uganda Freedom Union, one of several anti-Amin groups in exile.
Following the overthrow of Idi Amin in 1979, Binaisa returned to Uganda. After Idi Amin, Yusuf Lule served as the interim president for 68 days. On 20 June 1979, Binaisa was appointed President of Uganda by the National Consultative Commission, which was then the supreme governing body of the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF), a coalition of former Ugandan exiles who had helped remove Idi Amin.
...
Wikipedia