Agathe Uwilingiyimana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Agathe Uwilingiyimana
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| 4th Prime Minister of Rwanda | |
| In office 18 July 1993 – 7 April 1994 |
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| President | Juvénal Habyarimana |
| Preceded by | Dismas Nsengiyaremye |
| Succeeded by | Jean Kambanda |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 May 1953 Nyaruhengeri, Butare, Rwanda-Urundi |
| Died | 7 April 1994 (aged 40) Kigali, Kigali province, Rwanda |
| Cause of death | Murder |
| Resting place | Rwanda National Heroes Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican Democratic Movement |
| Spouse |
Ignace Barahira
(m. 1976; their deaths 1994) |
| Alma mater | National University of Rwanda |
| Religion | Catholicism |
Agathe Uwilingiyimana (born May 23, 1953 – died April 7, 1994) was an important Rwandan political leader. People sometimes called her Madame Agathe.
She served as the Prime Minister of Rwanda and was also the acting president for a short time. Her term lasted from July 18, 1993, until her death on April 7, 1994. This was at the very start of a very difficult time in Rwanda's history, known as the Rwandan genocide.
Agathe Uwilingiyimana was the first, and so far only, woman to be Prime Minister in Rwanda.
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Early Life and Education
Agathe Uwilingiyimana was born on May 23, 1953. Her birthplace was a village called Nyaruhengeri in southern Rwanda. This village is about 140 kilometers (87 miles) southeast of the capital city, Kigali.
Her parents were farmers. They moved to the Belgian Congo for work, but later returned to Butare in 1957. Agathe was from the Hutu ethnic group, which was the largest group in Rwanda.
Agathe did very well in school. She studied at Notre Dame des Cîteaux Secondary School. In 1973, she earned a certificate to teach humanities.
She continued her studies in mathematics and chemistry. In 1976, she became a schoolteacher in Butare. By 1983, she was teaching chemistry at the National University of Rwanda.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1985. She taught chemistry for four more years. Some people who held traditional views criticized her. They did not like that she encouraged girls to study math and science.
In 1976, Agathe married Ignace Barahira, who was a classmate from high school. She kept her maiden name, which is a common custom for women in Rwanda. Their first child was born the next year. They had five children in total.
Becoming Prime Minister
In 1986, Agathe started a cooperative group for teachers at her school. This group helped people save and borrow money. Her important role in this group caught the attention of leaders in Kigali. They wanted to appoint leaders from the southern part of the country.
In 1989, she became a director in the Ministry of Commerce. This was her first big government job.
In 1992, she joined the Republican Democratic Movement (MDR). This was an opposition party, meaning it was against the ruling party. In April of that year, she was made Minister of Education. This happened under Dismas Nsengiyaremye, who was the first prime minister from an opposition party. This was part of a plan to share power between President Juvénal Habyarimana and five main opposition parties.
As Minister of Education, Agathe made a big change. She stopped the system that gave school spots based on a person's ethnic group. Instead, she wanted public school spots and awards to be given based on how well students performed. This happened during the Rwandan Civil War (1990–1994). This change made some Hutu extremists angry because the old system had favored Hutus.
Agathe Uwilingiyimana became Rwanda's Prime Minister on July 17, 1993. She took over from Dismas Nsengiyaremye. Her party, the MDR, was split into two groups: moderates and extremists. Agathe was a moderate.
Some hardliners in her party tried to make her resign from the party. But a group of important people, including Faustin Twagiramungu, convinced her to stay. This caused the MDR party to split into two groups, each claiming to be the real MDR.
At one meeting, President Habyarimana spoke to her in a disrespectful way, saying, "You, woman!" Agathe bravely replied, "Don't talk to me like that. I'm not your wife!"
Peace Talks and Caretaker Role
The government led by President Habyarimana and Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana had a big job. They needed to finish the Arusha Accords. This was a peace agreement with the rebel group called the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), which was mostly made up of Tutsi people.
An agreement was finally reached on August 4, 1993. Under this agreement, President Habyarimana's party would lead the country for a short time. The new Prime Minister would be Faustin Twagiramungu from the MDR party.
President Habyarimana officially removed Agathe as Prime Minister on August 4, 1993. However, she continued to serve as a "caretaker" Prime Minister for eight months. This meant she stayed in the role until a new government could be fully set up.
She continued in this role until her death in April 1994. During this time, many Hutu-led parties, including her own MDR and the President's party, criticized her. In January 1994, they even held a press conference to attack her.
On November 3, 1993, she warned people publicly. She said that violence was being used to stop the peace process. She also warned against revenge attacks on Tutsis after the President of Burundi was killed.
The new government was supposed to start on March 25, 1994. Agathe was going to step down and take a lower government job. But the RPF did not show up for the ceremony, so the new government could not start. She worked with them to set a new date for the next day.
Her Death
The talks between President Habyarimana, Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana, and the Rwandan Patriotic Front were never finished. On April 6, 1994, at about 8:30 pm, the president's plane was shot down.
From the time President Habyarimana died until her own death the next morning (about 14 hours), Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana was Rwanda's official leader.
On the night the president's plane was shot down, Agathe Uwilingiyimana spoke to Radio France. She said there would be an immediate investigation. She also said her home was under attack. Her last recorded words were:
"There is shooting, people are being terrorized, people are inside their homes lying on the floor. We are suffering the consequences of the death of the head of state, I believe. We, the civilians, are in no way responsible for the death of our head of state."
The U.N. peacekeeping force sent ten Belgian peacekeepers to her home before 3 am the next morning. They planned to take her to Radio Rwanda so she could ask for calm across the country. Five Ghanaian U.N. troops were also guarding her house from outside. Inside, Rwandan presidential guards were protecting her family.
However, between 6:55 and 7:15 am, the presidential guards surrounded the U.N. troops. They told the U.N. soldiers to give up their weapons. Sadly, the U.N. peacekeepers did so just before 9 am.
Seeing the dangerous situation outside her home, Agathe and her family went to hide in a nearby U.N. compound around 8 am. People who saw what happened later told investigators that Rwandan soldiers entered the compound at 10 am. They searched for Agathe Uwilingiyimana.
Fearing for her children's lives, Agathe and her husband came out of hiding. The presidential guards killed both of them on the morning of April 7, 1994. Her children managed to escape and later found safety in Switzerland.
In his book, Shake Hands with the Devil, U.N. commander Roméo Dallaire wrote that Agathe and her husband gave themselves up to save their children. The children stayed hidden in a nearby building. They survived and were rescued by Captain Mbaye Diagne, a U.N. military observer. He helped them get to a safe hotel. They were later moved to Switzerland.
Later, some people were held responsible for the deaths. Colonel Théoneste Bagosora was found guilty of serious crimes, partly because he was involved in the deaths of Agathe Uwilingiyimana and the Belgian peacekeepers.
Her Legacy
Agathe Uwilingiyimana is remembered as a leader who worked for women's rights and education in Rwanda. She also tried to bring different ethnic groups together in the country.
Even though her political career was short, it was very important. She was one of the few female political leaders in Africa at that time. She was a contemporary of Sylvie Kinigi, who was Prime Minister of Burundi.
To honor Agathe Uwilingiyimana, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) created "The Agathe Innovative Award Competition." This award gives money to projects that help African girls get an education and earn money. Agathe Uwilingiyimana was one of the people who helped start FAWE.
After Agathe Uwilingiyimana's death, Jean Kambanda, a Hutu hardliner, became the next Prime Minister of the temporary government.
See Also
In Spanish: Agathe Uwilingiyimana para niños
Images for kids
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Agathe Uwilingiyimana
