The life story of president-elect William Ruto
William Ruto was born on December 21, 1966, in Kameno, Kenya. Ruto grew up in a family of limited means; his father was a small-scale farmer and his mother was a housewife. Despite their humble beginnings, Ruto was an excellent student, and he was able to attend college on a government scholarship.
Ruto eventually earned a degree in zoology from the University of Nairobi. After graduation, he worked for a time as a primary school teacher. In 1991, Ruto became involved in Kenyan politics, joining the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party. He quickly rose through the ranks of the party, and in 1997, he was elected to parliament.
Ruto remained a member of parliament until 2002 when he was appointed assistant minister for planning by President Daniel Arap Moi. In this role, Ruto was responsible for overseeing the development of Kenya’s national budget. He served in this position until 2003 when he was appointed minister for home affairs.
As minister for home affairs, Ruto was responsible for overseeing Kenya’s security forces. He held this position until 2007 when he was elected to parliament once again.
In parliament, Ruto was a vocal critic of then-President Mwai Kibaki. In 2010, he played a key role in the formation of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), an opposition party. In 2012, Ruto was nominated as CORD’s presidential candidate.
However, Ruto ultimately withdrew from the race, and CORD ultimately nominated Raila Odinga as its candidate. Ruto instead ran for re-election to parliament, and he was successful.
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In 2013, Ruto was once again appointed minister for home affairs. He held this position until 2015 when he resigned to focus on his presidential bid.
Ruto officially launched his presidential campaign in 2016, and he quickly emerged as a leading contender. On August 8, 2017, Ruto was elected president of Kenya, defeating incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta. He was sworn in on September 1, 2017.
