Profile: Who was Mutebile?

Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile Kirenga Baryabota was born in January 27, 1949 in Kigezi, western Uganda.

After attending Primary School at Kigezi High School and Secondary School at Kigezi College Butobere and Makerere College School, he was admitted to Makerere University in July 1970 to study Economics and Political Science.

Given the political situation at the time, in October 1972, he fled the country before completing his degree. It should be noted that at that time, he was the president of Makerere University Students’ Guild. It is said the renowned Prof Mahmood Mamdani was the good Samaritan that helped him cross the border.

Once he landed in the United Kingdom (UK), he resumed his education pursuit and in December 1972 he was admitted to Durham University in their Second Year Joint

Honours Course in Economics and Political Science, graduating in June 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts (Upper Second Class Honours) Degree.

While at the university in UK, he studied Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Economics of Industrial Organisation and Structure, Economics of Underdevelopment, Politics and Government of the USA, Politics of Development, and 19th Century Political Thought.

As a result, he wrote an undergraduate Dissertation on the Economic Development of Kenya, which won the first prize in Economics of Durham University.

Shortly, thereafter, precisely in October 1974, he was admitted to Balliol College, Oxford University, for Economics postgraduate studies.

Half a year later  (in June 1975), he sat and passed two papers in the Postgraduate Bachelor of Philosophy, the examination which was a requirement for qualifying to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy by research at Oxford University.

From June 1975 to November 1977 at Oxford University, he was engaged in doctoral research work under Prof Paul Streaten and Dr Frances Stewart for his Doctor of Philosophy thesis on, “The Choice of Techniques in Industrial Production in Developing Countries.”

From November 1977 to June 1979, the central bank manager was teaching at the University of Dar-es-Salaam while at the same time conducting field work for his Ph.D. thesis.

Importantly perhaps, this work was interrupted at the outbreak of the 1979 War of Liberation when he returned alongside many other Ugandans in exile or diaspora to Uganda. Unfortunately, he was not able to find time to complete his research work.

Working experience

Nevertheless, Mutebile remained productive in the academic world as he gathered valuable experiences from between 1974-1977 where he taught Economics Tutorials for undergraduates at Balliol College and St Peter’s College, Oxford University. Between 1976-1977,  he was commissioned by Rapid Results College London to write their syllabus and course for Commerce For Africa.

By 1977, he was the visiting lecturer at the Furnham Centre for International Briefing, United Kingdom;

Dec-1977 – Jun-1979: Lecturer in Industrial Economics, University of Dar es Salaam

Jun-1979 - 1980: Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the President, State House, Entebbe; 1981: Acting Under Secretary, Ministry of Planning & Economic Development;

In 1982, he became the  Chief Government Planning Economist, Ministry of Planning

Between 1979 and 1980, he was promoted to Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the President, State House, Entebbe.

1981: Acting Under Secretary, Ministry of Planning & amp; Economic Development;

1982: Chief Government Planning Economist, Ministry of Planning and Economic

Development; Sep-1985: Promoted to the rank of Permanent Secretary and transferred to the Prime Minister’s Office, in charge of Economic Affairs;

May-1986: He was transferred to the Ministry of Planning & Economic Development as Permanent Secretary. Also chairman, Agricultural Policy Committee

Apr-1992 – Jul-1996: Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury of the merged Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning;

Jul-1996 – Apr-1998: Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance (created by splitting the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning into the Ministry of Finance)