Tanzania's Rising Star

Could a Mason alumnus become president? Perhaps not in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, but 2015 could see School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution alumnus January Makamba elected to the office of president of Tanzania, the largest country in east Africa with a population of 47.4 million.

Makamba represents the Bumbuli District in the Tanzanian parliament and is deputy minister of communication, science, and technology for the country. In 2013, Makamba received the National Democratic Institute's Democracy Award, which honors individuals and organizations that have exhibited a sustained commitment to democracy and human rights.

Before running for parliament, Makamba was an aide to Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete for five years. Makamba, considered one of Tanzania's rising stars, was named to Forbes' 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa 2014 list.

That's quite a rise from when he herded goats and hauled water from the brackish Kagera River. As a boy, he and his younger brother were refugees from Uganda president Idi Amin's invasion and lived in displaced persons camps until their father commandeered a bus to rescue the brothers.

Makamba earned his first salary after hight school helping refugees crossing into Tanzania. This position led to his becoming camp manager where, he says, he became profoundly philosophical and self-reflective, two traits he would hone during graduate school at George Mason.

" [At Mason,] I learned that persistence pays," he wrote in the blog on his website januarymakamba.com. " I enjoyed that world. It was a great time for networking and maturity."