Emilio Mwai Kibaki ✓ Verified

Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013. He served in various leadership positions in Kenya's government including being the longest serving Member of Parliament (MP) in Kenya from 1963 to 2013. He was the fourth Vice-President of Kenya for ten years from 1978 to 1988 under President Daniel arap Moi. He also held cabinet ministerial positions in the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi governments, including as minister for Finance (1969–1981) under Kenyatta, and Minister for Home Affairs (1982–1988) and Minister for Health (1988–1991) under Moi. Kibaki served as an opposition Member of Parliament from 1992 to 2002. He unsuccessfully vied for the presidency in 1992 and 1997. He served as the Leader of the Official Opposition in Parliament from 1998 to 2002. Following the 2002 presidential election, he was elected as the President of Kenya. As president of Kenya, Kibaki presided over a period of significant economic growth, infrastructural development, and institutional reforms. His administration introduced free primary education in 2003, expanded access to schooling for numerous Kenyan children. Under his leadership, Kenya experienced improvements in road networks, telecommunications, and public service delivery, while the country also adopted a new constitution in 2010 that introduced far reaching political and governance reforms. However, his presidency was also marked by the disputed 2007 presidential election and the post election violence that followed, resulting in the deaths and displacement of thousands of people. Despite these challenges, Kibaki is widely regarded as one of kenya's most influential leaders due to his contributions to economic recovery, constitutional transformation, and national development.