Leader Stirling

Who was Leader Stirling?

Leader Dominic Stirling was a missionary surgeon and former Health Minister in Tanzania. Born in Finchley, England and raised in Sussex Weald, Stirling attended Bishop's Stortford College and the University of London. After a brief period of general practice, Stirling joined the Universities' Mission to Central Africa and was deployed to Tanzania. He spent 14 years of service to the UMCA in Lulindi. He then converted to Catholicism and joined the Benedictine Mission, working with them in Mnero, where he built another hospital. After 15 years he left to Kibosho, on the slopes of the Kilimanjaro, where he worked for 5 more years. During his medical missionary career, he emphasized the training of local nurses, establishing a precedent for official nurse recognition in Tanzania. His experience in Africa eventually led him to the political career, and in 1958 Leader Stirling was elected to the first Parliament of Tanzania. He held this position for the next 22 years, being the last 5 as Health Minister by appointment of Julius Nyerere. Besides his medical and political work, Stirling was also interested in Scouting. His successful efforts to establish a Scout movement in Tanzania eventually led him to the post of Chief Scout of Tanzania in 1962, following the formation of the Republic.