Joan Wicken: A lifelong Collaboration with Mwalimu Nyerere

This book offers a rare glimpse into Joan Wicken’s lifelong relationship with Tanzania’s founding president, Julius Nyerere. As his personal assistant, speechwriter, and confidant, Wicken played a crucial role in his life and the nation’s development.
In this interview with Aili Mari Tripp, Wicken reflects on her journey, sharing insights into Nyerere’s character, leadership, and the country’s post-independence years. With wit and dry humor, she reveals the man behind the title and her own remarkable story.

About the Author
Aili Mari Tripp is Vilas Research Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, where she teaches African politics and gender and politics. She lived in Tanzania from 1960 to 1974 and later carried out research in Tanzania, publishing among other works a book, Changing the Rules: The Politics of Liberalization and the Urban Informal Economy in Tanzania (University of California Press, 1997, 2021).