Remembering Edwin Mtei: Tanzania's Visionary Founding Central Bank Governor

The founding governor of the central bank of Tanzania, Edwin Mtei has passed away at his farm in Arusha. The late Mtei died in the early hours of January 20, 2026, aged 94 years. Edwin Mtei was made the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) governor in 1966 and then 12 years later, he became Minister of Finance. He is the author of own autobiography ‘From Goat Herder to Governor!’ Born in 1932 in Marangu, Moshi, Edwin Mtei, who was the first Governor of the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) and the chief architect of central banking in the East African country. That was before falling out with the country’s founding President, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, over the IMF issue. Mtei has carefully steered Tanzania’s foreign exchange reserves and helped with the nationalization of the commercial banks in 1967. He served as the Tanzanian Minister for Finance and Planning from 1978 until his resignation in 1981. A dedicated commercial farmer, Mtei had until his death, running a successful coffee farm at the Tengeru Ward of Meru District in Arusha. Mtei also founded the country’s first opposition party, the Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) in 1992, becoming its first chairperson. During the first multiparty General Elections in 1995, Mtei contested for the Parliamentary seat of the Arusha Urban Constituency via his party, CHADEMA, but lost to Makongoro Nyerere, the son of the first President of Tanzania, who vied for the same slot through the NCCR-Mageuzi party. About Edwin Mtei Born in 1932 in Marangu, Moshi, Mtei says he was brought up in a grass-thatched conical hut by his mother, a single parent. From his autobiography, Mtei reveals he attended ‘bush’ school at Ngaruma Lutheran Parish Church, and herded goats after classes. He attended Old Moshi Middle and Tabora Secondary schools and went on to Makerere University College in 1953. He graduated from there with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, History and Geography in 1957. In his own words he states: “I have felt it worthwhile starting right at the beginning of my life. He grew up in Marangu, during the tribal and colonial environment of Tanganyika in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Mtei believed that the most interesting part of his life story is that relating to the events when he held senior positions in Nyerere’s Government, and in the public service generally. That includes his falling out with Mwalimu Nyerere over IMF and its policies, and his resignation from his post as Minister of Finance. Life worth living In 1963 he was seconded to the East African Common Services Organization becoming personal assistant to the secretary-general and clerk to the Common Services Authority. And in 1964, he was secretary to the EACSO treasury, before returning to Tanzania as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. Mtei became governor of the Bank of Tanzania in 1966 and has since managed to preserve the strength and independence of Tanzanian currency and its parity links with the Kenyan and Ugandan currencies. Edwin had also been honorary treasurer of Dar es Salaam University College 1966-70 and chairman of the University Grants Committee since 1970.