Quick Facts
Biography
Lawrence Sebalu (1930 or 1931 – before 31 January 2019) was a Ugandan lawyer and politician who served as minister of finance, planning, and economic development from 1961 until 1962 and in May 1980. During his first tenure, he was an advocate for independence from the United Kingdom and argued for the diversification of Uganda's agriculture-based economy.
Biography
Lawrence Sebalu was born May 1931. The son of a tribal chief in Uganda, he attended universities in India where he received degrees in law and economics. Sebalu worked as a lawyer. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
From 1961 until 1962, Sebalu served as the first minister of finance, planning, and economic development for the British-controlled Protectorate of Uganda in the government of President Benedicto Kiwanuka. An advocate for full independence through peaceful methods, he argued that an independent Uganda should focus on developing hydroelectric power and public education. He also argued the country's agricultural sector should move away from coffee and cotton production – which accounted for 80% of Uganda's exports – and towards smaller plants. In September 1961, the American International Cooperation Administration sponsored a visit by Sebalu to speak at universities in the United States. On 1 March 1962, Sebalu announced that he had discovered an alleged plot by the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) to overthrow the constitution within three years of independence.
In late 1972, during the rule of Idi Amin, Sebalu disappeared after being arrested by the military police, but was not killed. In May 1980, after the fall of Amin's government, Sebalu briefly served again as Uganda's finance minister in the interim government of Paulo Muwanga, but was ousted from the position by Milton Obote. During this period, he was the only high-ranking member of the Democratic Party to support the UPC in a joint statement against that year's elections, which they argued would turn Uganda into a one-party state under the control of the Uganda National Liberation Front.
Sebalu died at some point before 31 January 2019.
