Obote, (Apollo) Milton

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Milton Obote.—Peter Kemp/AP

(born Dec. 28, 1924, Akoroko village, Lango, Uganda—died Oct. 10, 2005, Johannesburg, S.Af.) First prime minister (1962–70) and president (1966–71, 1980–85) of Uganda. Elected to the Legislative Council in 1958, he led his country to independence in 1962. As prime minister, he accepted a constitution that granted federal status to five traditional kingdoms, including Buganda, but in 1966 he sent troops under Gen. Idi Amin to subdue Buganda's ruler, Mutesa II, and later abolished all the kingdoms. Obote was overthrown in a 1971 coup led by Amin, but, after Amin was deposed in 1979, Obote returned to Uganda and established a repressive government. He was again ousted in 1985 and eventually settled in Zambia.

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