Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Prime Minister of Nigeria
In office
1 October 1960 – 15 January 1966
MonarchElizabeth II (until 1963)
PresidentNnamdi Azikiwe (from 1963)
Governors‑General
Preceded byHimself
(as Chief Minister)
Succeeded byPosition abolished
(Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi as Military head of state)
Chief Minister of Nigeria
In office
30 August 1957 – 1 October 1960
MonarchElizabeth II
Governor‑GeneralSir James Wilson Robertson
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byHimself
(as Prime Minister)
Deputy Leader of the Northern People's Congress
In office
30 August 1957 – 15 January 1966
LeaderAhmadu Bello
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Member of Parliament for Bauchi South West[1]
In office
1954 – 15 January 1966
Personal details
Born
Mallam Abubakar[2]

(1912-12-00)December 1912
Bauchi, Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Died15 January 1966(1966-01-15) (aged 53)
near Lagos, Nigeria
Resting placeTafawa Balewa's tomb
Political partyNorthern People's Congress
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa KBE PC (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only prime minister of Nigeria upon independence.[3] A conservative Anglophile, he favoured maintaining close ties with the British. During his first few years in office as prime minister, Nigeria was a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II reigning as Queen of Nigeria, until Nigeria became a republic in 1963.[4] He was both a defender of Northern special interests and an advocate of Nigerian reform and unity.[5]

  1. ^ Post, Ken (18 December 1963). "The Nigerian Federal Election of 1959: Politics and Administration in a Developing Political System".
  2. ^ "Abubakar Tafawa Balewa". jfk.artifacts.archives.gov.
  3. ^ "Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa | prime minister of Nigeria". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  4. ^ Ogunbadejo, Oye (1988). "Nigerian-Soviet Relations, 1960-87". African Affairs. 87 (346): 83–104. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098014. JSTOR 722811.
  5. ^ "Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa | prime minister of Nigeria | Britannica". www.britannica.com. January 2024.