Simon Thuo Kairo Explained

Simon Thuo Kairo
Office:	Kenyan Ambassador to China
Successor:	Henry Nzioka Mulli
Office2:	Member of Parliament (Nakuru Town East Constituency)
President2:	Daniel Arap Moi
Term Start2:	1974
Term End2:	1978
Birth Date:	^[1]
Birth Place:	Kikuyu
Death Place:	Kileleshwa^[2]
Spouse:	Nellie Wanjiro Kairo and Susan Wahu Kairo
Children:	Nancy, Judy, Tommy, Betty, Chris, Wambui and Wanjiru Kairo
Alma Mater:	Budo College, Uganda Huron College Northeast State Teachers College
Occupation:	Diplomat and politician

Simon Thuo Kairo (1930  - 30 August 2007) was a Kenyan diplomat and politician. He was one of the beneficiaries of the Kennedy Airlifts to America in 1959.^[3] He was the first Kenyan ambassador to China and was elected to be the member of parliament of Nakuru East in 1974.^[4]

Education

Kairo graduated in 1963 from Huron College with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He also studied at Northeast State Teachers College, Missouri from 1959 to 1960 and Long Island University in New York from 1960 to 1961.^[3]

Career

• He was Assistant Clerk in the Kenyan Parliament.^[5]
• In 1963 he joined the Diplomatic Service.^[6]
• From 1964 to 1965 he was Second Secretary and Charge d'Affaires in Beijing to open Kenya's embassy there.^[7]
• In 1965 he became Private Secretary to Jomo Kenyatta.^{[8] [9] [10]}
• In 1968 he founded the first Kenyan owned Tours and Safaris operation, Malaika Safaris.^[11]
• On he was elected in the Constituency of Nakuru East as Member of the Kenyan National Assembly and was appointed Assistant Minister for Labour.^[12]

Notes and References

1. Who's who in East Africa, 1967, p. 57
2. Kenya Gazette, http://kenyalaw.org/kenya_gazette/gazette/volume/NTcz/Vol.%20CXI%20%20-%20%20No.%2061
3. Kenyan Student Airlifts to America 1959-1961: An Educational Odyssey by Stephens, Robert F.
4. Kenya Gazette 1 Nov 1974
5. Jim C. Harper, Western-Educated Elites in Kenya, 1900-1963: The African American Factor, p. 121
6. Book: Harper, Jim C.. Western-Educated Elites in Kenya, 1900-1963: The African American Factor. 2005-12-09. Routledge. 978-1-135-51280-4. en.
7. Sun. Jodie Yuzhou. 2020-01-02. 'Now the cry was Communism': the Cold War and Kenya's relations with China, 1964–70. Cold War History. 20. 1. 39–58. 10.1080/14682745.2019.1602120. 198821113. 1468-2745.
8. Kenyan Student Airlifts to America 1959-1961: An Educational Odyssey, p.47
9. Western-Simon Thuo Kairo: Educated Elites in Kenya, 1900-1963 p.121
10. Kenya Gazette, 2 January 1998: Kenya High Commission, Lusaka. p.15
11. Web site: Kenya Safari Operators Guide 2009-10. Issuu. en. 2020-05-29.
12. Kenya Gazette, https://books.google.com/books?id=VuyJ9hkkaRUC&dq=Simon+Thuo+Kairo&pg=PA1324