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• Raila Odinga was named Kenyan Prime Minister on April 13, 2008. He was previously a member of Parliament and was the losing candidate in the 2007 Kenya Elections.

  Odinga challenged the results after Mwai Kibaki won the 2007 election by a margin of 230,000 votes. Kibaki announced on April 13, 2008, that he would name Odinga Prime Minister, as part of a power sharing contract. The move was made partly to stop the violence that occurred following the elections.

• Fast Facts

  1. Born: January 7, 1945
  2. Received a scholarship to the Technical University, Magdeburg
  3. Worked as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi
  4. Appointed Deputy Director of the [http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya_Bureau_of_Standards Kenya Bureau of Standards]
  5. Married to Ida Odinga
  6. The son of the first Vice President of Kenya [http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaramogi_Oginga_Odinga Jaramogi Oginga Odinga]

• Origins

  Odinga is the son of the first Vice President of Kenya, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga; his brother, Oburu Odinga, is also currently a Member of Parliament. He is commonly referred to by his first name due to coincidence as he was in the parliament at the same time as his father between 1992 and 1994. After receiving a degree in Electrical Engineering from Technical University, Magdeburg, East Germany, Raila returned to Kenya to work as a lecturer at the University of Narobi. In 1982, after being suspected of collaborating with the plotters of a failed coup attempt against President Daniel Arap Moi, Raila was placed under house arrest for seven months. Charged with treason, he was detained without trial for six years.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Mwai Kibaki | Kenya Elections 2007 | Kenya Riots | Kenya | Ashley Biden

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