James David Rubadiri is a Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

an diplomat, academic and poet. At independence in 1964, Rubadiri was appointed Malawi's first ambassador to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

. On Tuesday August 18th, 1964, he presented his credentials to President Johnson at the White House and expressed the hope that his newly independent country would get more aid from the United States. Ambassador Rubadiri said that Malawi needed help to build its democratic institutions and noted that Malawi was already receiving US economic and technical help. David Rubadiri left the government in 1965 when he broke with President Hastings Banda

Hastings Banda

Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the leader of Malawi and its predecessor state, Nyasaland, from 1961 to 1994. After receiving much of his education overseas, Banda returned to his home country to speak against colonialism and advocate for independence...

.

Education

Rubadiri attended King's College, Budo

King's College, Budo

King’s College Budo is a mixed, residential, secondary school in Central Uganda.-Overview:King's College Budo predates Makerere University as one of the first centres of higher learning in Uganda. Only Namilyango College and Gayaza High School are older...

 in Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 from 1941-1950 then Makerere University

Makerere University

Makerere University , Uganda's largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning, , was first established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees from the University of London...

 from 1952-1956, where he graduated from with a bachelor's degree in English literature and History. He went on to the University of Bristol

University of Bristol

The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...

 from 1956-1960, where he received a master of arts degree in English literature.

Publications

His only novel, No Bride Price was published. The novel criticized the Banda regime and was, along with Legson Kayira

Legson Kayira

Legson Didimu Kayira is a Malawian novelist. Kayira, an ethnic Tumbuka, received an education at Skagit Valley College, University of Washington and St Catharine's College, Cambridge. His early works focused on Malawi's rural life, while his later writings satired the Hastings Banda...

's The Looming Shadow, some of the first published work by Malawians.

Sources

• Curriculum Vitae United Nations biography
• Profile African People Database
• The Nyasaland Times, Tuesday August 18th, 1964