Founder’s foreign policy legacy: How Principle trumped power

DODOMA: AS Tanzania commemorates Nyerere Day, marking the passing of the founding president, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, it is time to reflect on a pivotal year — 1965 — that profoundly shaped the nation’s foreign policy and commitment to self-reliance.

President Nyerere executed a breathtaking series of diplomatic ruptures with the world’s major powers in 1965 when he expelled two US diplomats, rejected West German aid and severed ties with the United Kingdom.

These actions, taken by a young, financially vulnerable nation, were a stunning display of post-colonial sovereignty.

They instantly transformed Tanzania from a newly independent state seeking patronage into an uncompromising moral leader of the Third World.

Though economically costly in the immediate term, these bold decisions dramatically reshaped Tanzania’s international standing and laid the ideological groundwork for its unique path of “African Socialism” (Ujamaa).

The diplomatic turbulence of 1965, later termed the “Year of the Great Divide,” demonstrated Nyerere’s unwavering refusal to allow foreign interests—whether from the East or the West—to dictate Tanzanian domestic or foreign policy. His message was clear: Principle would always trump power.

The year of the great divide

In one of his earliest and boldest foreign policy decisions, President Nyerere ordered the expulsion of two American diplomats — Robert Gordon, a counsellor at the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam and Frank Carlucci, the US Consul in Zanzibar — in January 1965.

Tanzania accused the pair of engaging in subversive activities that interfered with the internal affairs of the newly formed union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

While the US State Department strongly denied the allegations, contemporary press reports suggested the expulsions may have stemmed from heightened Cold War tensions and acute suspicion toward American involvement following the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution.

The expulsion sent an immediate and clear signal that the young nation would not tolerate foreign interference, regardless of the superpower involved.

Withdrawal of West Germany Aid

The second crisis arose directly from the throes of the Cold War. Newly independent African nations found themselves navigating a complex geopolitical landscape dominated by superpower rivalries.

West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany, FRG) maintained its “Hallstein Doctrine,” a policy that dictated it would sever ties with any nation recognising East Germany (the German Democratic Republic, GDR), asserting Bonn’s sole legitimacy to represent the German people.

After the 1964 Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanzania, a delicate diplomatic situation emerged.

Zanzibar, having recently undergone a revolution, had already established relations with East Germany.

Nyerere, seeking to balance diverse interests and maintain Tanzania’s non-aligned stance, permitted the East German mission in Dar es Salaam to operate as a Consulate-General – a status below full embassy recognition, hoping to avoid a diplomatic breach with West Germany. However, Bonn saw this as a direct challenge.

An ultimatum was delivered: Close the East German consulate or face the withdrawal of West German aid. Initially, military assistance was cut.

Nyerere’s unflinching stand:

“No puppet state” Instead of backing down, Nyerere delivered a powerful, swift and unequivocal, response embodying the very essence of national dignity and sovereignty he championed.

He declared that he would refuse all West German aid— which totalled a substantial 32.5 million US dollars in capital assistance—to prevent Tanzania from becoming a “puppet state.” “We shall not allow our friends to choose our friends for us,”

Nyerere declared in his seminal foreign policy address in TANU Bi-Annual National Conference in Mwanza in 1967.

To preempt further political leverage and demonstrate Tanzania’s resolve, Nyerere went a step further.

He boldly requested the complete withdrawal of all West German aid, including committed development funds.

West Germany complied, leading to a significant loss of financial support at a critical juncture for the young nation.

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Upholding Solidarity:

The break with the United Kingdom The final and perhaps most symbolic break occurred on December 15, 1965, when Tanzania severed diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom.

This action was in direct response to the UK’s perceived inaction against the white minority government in Rhodesia following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) a month earlier.

How it unfolded: After Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on November 11, 1965, Britain under Prime Minister Harold Wilson opted for economic sanctions rather than military intervention to end white minority rule.

African nations, including Tanzania, Zambia and Ghana, viewed Britain’s response as weak and a betrayal of its commitment to decolonisation and racial equality.

President Julius Nyerere, a staunch supporter of African liberation movements, was deeply angered by Britain’s reluctance to use force.

He saw the UK’s policy as implicitly condoning racial oppression and undermining the struggle for majority rule across southern Africa.

On December 15, 1965, Nyerere severed ties with Britain, declaring Tanzania could not maintain normal relations with a country that “protected a racist rebellion”.

The British High Commission in Dar es Salaam was closed and Tanzania’s diplomatic staff were recalled from London.

The break lasted until December 1968, when relations were restored after Britain took stronger steps to isolate the Rhodesian regime.

The rupture demonstrated Nyerere’s moral consistency and his willingness to sacrifice aid and diplomatic ties in defence of African solidarity and self-determination — a hallmark of Tanzania’s principled foreign policy during his leadership.

Nyerere’s decision complied with a resolution from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), making Tanzania and Ghana the only two African nations to follow through on the collective call.

\This uncompromising stance on “No Independence Before Majority Rule” (NIBMAR) solidified Tanzania’s image as the unyielding “frontline” state in the African liberation struggle.

The decision to sever diplomatic ties with Britain in 1965 had immediate financial consequences for Tanzania.

At the time, the United Kingdom was the country’s largest source of external aid and technical assistance.

The break led to the suspension of British development programmes, the withdrawal of experts, and the disruption of projects supported by the Commonwealth Development Corporation.

Scholarships and training opportunities for Tanzanians in British institutions were also halted, creating a sudden vacuum in development support for the young nation.

Trade and investment were equally affected. Britain had been a major market for Tanzania’s key exports — including sisal, coffee and cotton — and an important source of machinery and manufactured goods.

The diplomatic rift discouraged new British investment and slowed trade growth, forcing Tanzania to look elsewhere for export markets and import supplies.

While commercial relations were not completely cut off, the political chill strained economic confidence and weakened existing business ties.

The rupture also accelerated Tanzania’s search for alternative partners. With Western donors withdrawing or reducing support, President Nyerere turned to countries that respected Tanzania’s non-aligned position.

China, the Nordic nations and the Eastern bloc became new pillars of cooperation, providing aid, credit and expertise for major national projects.

Notably, China financed and built the TAZARA Railway after Western nations declined to do so — a lasting symbol of South-South solidarity born out of that diplomatic realignment.

At home, the loss of British aid placed new pressure on the national budget and development agenda.

Shortages of foreign exchange and technical personnel slowed the pace of infrastructure expansion and industrial growth.

In response, the government doubled down on domestic mobilisation and selfhelp initiatives, which later became central to the Arusha Declaration of 1967.

The break thus pushed Tanzania toward a path of socialism and self-reliance, strengthening its ideological and policy foundations.

In the long term, the decision proved transformative. It reduced Tanzania’s dependence on former colonial powers and reinforced its moral leadership in Africa’s liberation and nonalignment movements.

Tanzania gained a reputation for standing on principle rather than convenience — a legacy that endures in her foreign policy today.

Nyerere’s break with Britain may have cost the young nation economically in the short run, but it secured a lasting legacy of dignity, independence and resilience in the face of global power politics.

Forging self-reliance:

A new path The diplomatic ruptures resulted in an immediate and painful economic shock: The abrupt withdrawal of significant foreign assistance, capped by the freezing of a £7.5 million British loan.

This economic shock, however, served as the catalyst for Nyerere to articulate a more definitive and radical national ideology which found its expression in the Arusha Declaration of 1967.

A legacy of principled nonalignment

The withdrawal of Western support prompted Nyerere to actively diversify Tanzania’s international relations.

This opened the door to a pivotal partnership with the People’s Republic of China, which provided military and economic aid on unusually favourable terms.

The most visible and enduring outcome was the construction of the TAZARA Railway (Tanzania Zambia Railway), China’s largest single aid project at the time, providing landlocked Zambia with an independent route to the sea, bypassing white-ruled states.

Despite the economic hardship of the Ujamaa years, Nyerere’s principled and costly actions earned Tanzania immense moral authority and respect across the globe, particularly among newly independent nations.

The strong anti-colonial stance became a central pillar of Tanzania’s foreign policy, strengthening Nyerere’s national and international legitimacy.

In essence, the 1965 crises transformed Tanzania from a post-colonial state seeking perpetual aid into a principled diplomatic actor.

They laid the ideological foundation for the subsequent Ujamaa experiment, positioning Tanzania as the moral and physical headquarters for Africa’s liberation movements— a lasting legacy that continues to define the nation’s political identity to this day