Twenty-six years ago today, on October 14, 1999 (September 6, 1999), Tanzania's founding head and former president Nyerere passed away. Tanzania's founding head and former president Nyerere On October 14, 1999, Tanzania's founding head and former president Nyerere died in London, England due to his deteriorating condition. He was 77 years old. Nyerere's coffin arrived in Tanzania on the 18th and was buried in his hometown of Butiama after being paid a public viewing. Tanzania's current president, Mkapa, ordered 30 days of national mourning. Nyerere was born into a chieftain family and studied at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, where he received a master's degree in liberal arts. After returning home, he taught in Tanganyika under British colonial rule and then entered politics. In 1964, Nyerere pushed for the unification of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, establishing the United Republic of Tanzania. Nyerere was the founding father of Tanzania and chairperson of the Southern National Council, but people prefer to call this approachable old man "Mwarimu" (teacher), not entirely because Nyerere was a teacher in his youth and served as the president of Dar es Salaam University for a long time after independence, but because of his unique contribution to the whole nation. As the president of the country, it is natural to go out and take a car, but Nyerere has the habit of walking to the countryside. Dressed in casual clothes, donned a sun hat, and put on long wellies, he went to the countryside to learn about the people, and walked dozens of kilometers. He and the farmers were like family, eating together and sleeping on a cowhide at night. He did not have the high salary of other African leaders, he had no foreign savings, and in 1981 he won the "Third World Fund Award" of $100,000, all of which he dedicated to building the National Library. He did not have a high-end villa, but lived in an ordinary public house in the suburbs. The house was no different from an ordinary village house. The furnishings and curtains were old-fashioned, and the wind blew and the dust was blowing. When Nyerere left office, the government wanted to build him a house in his hometown, but he was sternly rejected. Nyerere never shied away from his mistakes, even big ones, including some policy mistakes. He often blamed himself for not bringing the country out of poverty. But his open-mindedness, self-discipline, integrity and self-discipline have always been praised by the world, and he still worked for the unity and progress of the state and the third world until his twilight years. Nyerere served as the chairperson of the OAU Liberation Committee for a long time, and Tanzania, a frontline country, became a bastion of national liberation in southern African countries. Africa has been in war, but Tanzania has always maintained rare peace and stability. It is called Africa's island of peace, and Nyerere plays the most crucial role in it. When he was young and strong, he took the initiative to give up his virtue was the most shining part of his personality. Not only did the people and the ruling party call him the father of the country, but the opposition party also called him the father of the country, which is rare in Africa. Nyerere did not appreciate the multi-party system. When Tanzania implemented a multi-party system under Western pressure, Nyerere warned: If you are willing to have multiple parties, I will not object, but there is a rule. Whoever messes up the country, I will lead the masses to demonstrate in the streets! Nyerere is one of the elders of the African National Liberation Movement and enjoys a high international reputation. It is for this reason that the Great Lakes region elected him as an international mediator of ethnic conflicts in Burundi to promote domestic reconciliation. But for an old man, it is not easy to resolve the long-standing grievances between the Tutsis and the Hutus! Nyerere has to work hard to persuade all factions to shake hands and make peace, and to raise funds in the name of the Nyerere Foundation. The Burundi negotiations left him exhausted and accelerated the early outbreak of the disease. According to Mkapa, in August last year, doctors discovered that Nyerere was suffering from chronic lymphocytosis and did not need treatment according to the situation, but the negotiations on Burundi held in July 1999 made the kind-hearted elder quite angry. In his words, the negotiations were messy and chaotic. That night, Nyerere found shingles on his waist and a sudden increase in white blood cells after testing, but he still insisted on attending the Algeria-Africa Summit. Then his condition worsened and he had to leave for the UK for medical treatment on August 30. Nyerere is an old friend familiar to the Chinese people. He has made significant contributions to strengthening the friendship between China and Tanzania and has always been respected by the Chinese people. He has visited China 13 times, and after almost every visit, he said that he can learn a lot of new things in China. He also emphasized more than once that China has proved to be trustworthy and that it is indeed speaking for third world countries. As one of the founders and pioneers of Sino-Tanzanian relations, Nyerere regards the establishment of Sino-Tanzanian friendship as an important page in his political career. Tanzania is one of the African countries that has received the most Chinese aid projects. On the eve of his resignation as chairperson of the Revolutionary Party, Nyerere made an unusual move: he inspected all the projects built by China during his tenure. At a mass meeting, Nyerere recalled with emotion: When I visited China in 1965, I talked about my hope that China would help Tanzania build a textile factory, and I immediately got the consent of the Chinese side. Later, after the factory was completed, we suggested naming it Mao Zedong Textile Factory or Zhou Enlai Textile Factory, but China said that it did not have the habit of naming people. After thinking about it, it was called Friendship Textile Factory, which is a very appropriate name! I knew that China was not rich at that time, and I was embarrassed to mention other projects during the talks, but Chairperson Liu Shaoqi asked me: Except for the textile factory, there is nothing else? Only then did I mention the Tanzania-Zambia Railway. After listening to this, Chairperson Liu Shaoqi said: If necessary, we will do it! Did you hear that? If necessary, we will do it! This project was approved by Chairperson Mao. At that time, the West said that China was talking about it on paper, but in fact China built it! It is China's largest aid project abroad, which is our honor! In the process of privatization in Tanzania in recent years, someone suggested selling the Friendship Factory. Nyerere was very angry when he heard the news. He pun said: To sell friendship is to sell friends, and China-Tanzania friendship cannot be sold!