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Ambassador Mark Green Gives Tribute to Late First Vice President of Zanzibar Maalim Seif Hamad

On October 22, 2022, Wilson Center President and CEO, Ambassador Mark Green, spoke at the second annual Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad Conference, which is held to honor the late Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad.

Ambassador Green, retired American Ambassador to Tanzania, provided virtual remarks to participants and spoke on his relationship with the late First Vice President of Zanzibar, Maalim Seif Hamad, who passed away on February 17, 2021 due to COVID-19 complications. Ambassador Green spoke highly of Maalim Seif's ideals for democracy, considering citizens first in making choices and constructive alternatives. “He was always humble but undeterred, modest but unbowed, and the good of the people never left his heart," said Ambassador Green. Noting Seif as a champion of democracy, he urged the audience to celebrate the late First Vice President's contributions by rededicating themselves to the democracy Seif believed in as it is "the democracy we need."

Founded in 2021, the Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad Foundation (MSF) is a Pan-African think tank that seeks "to promote democracy and its ideals and engage in programs that contribute to reconciliation, mutual respect, conflict resolution, peaceful co-existence, harmony and cooperation among people." MSF describes Seif as a "leader of Zanzibar's and Tanzania’s democratic struggle who devoted his entire life to the promotion of democracy while in and out of government." The Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad annual conference is the foundation's flagship event that honors the late First Vice President's democratic values through programs encouraging peace, respect, and harmony. The 2022 two-day event marked the second installment of the conference with the theme of promoting "education, talent development, creativity, and empowerment."

Click here to watch Ambassador Green's full remarks, and to watch the full livestream of the conference, visit MSF's Youtube page.

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