the 1974 election Nicholas Biwott was recalled to the Ministry of Home Affairs as Under Secretary (1974–78) to Minister Daniel arap Moi, Kenya's vice-president. With the ageing President Kenyatta unable to fulfil all the functions of the presidency, Moi took a leading role in the East African region with the result that Nicholas Biwott spent much of the next four years dealing with the Organisation of African Unity, the Commonwealth, the 'non-aligned' states and promoting the 'good neighbourliness' policy with states bordering Kenya. Kenyatta's death in 1978 saw Daniel arap Moi elevated to the presidency and Nicholas Biwott promoted to Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President (1978–79). Minister of State Following the election of 1979 (in which he was elected Member of Parliament for 1979 Keiyo South election, a seat he retained until December 2007), Nicholas Biwott returned to the Office of the President but now promoted to Minister of State (1979–82) with responsibility for science and technology, cabinet affairs, land settlement and immigration. Under his auspices the Kenya Medical Research Institute was established in the same year to carry out health science research in Kenya. (Now in its 31st year, KEMRI continues its work as "a leading centre of excellence in the promotion of quality health"). Minister of Regional Development, Science and Technology In September 1982 he was appointed Minister of Regional Development, Science and Technology. Learning from examples of other regional development policies, notably in Australia and Tennessee in the US, he created two regional development authorities, the Lake Basin Development Authority and the Kerio Valley Development Authority. Minister of Energy In September 1983, Nicholas Biwott was made Minister of Energy and Regional Development and in March 1988 (following a reorganisation of ministry portfolios) he became Minister of Energy, a post he held until January 1991. Over the next seven years he was instrumental in establishing the National Oil Corporation, the building of National Oil storage facilities near Nairobi and connecting them to the Mombasa refinery, and extending the pipeline from Nairobi to Kisumu and Eldoret. This period that saw rapid advances in efforts to improve Kenya's electricity supply and delivery with a rural electrification programme, work beginning on the Sondu Miriu Dam, and the completions of the Masinga Multi Purpose Dam, the Kiambere Hydro Electric Dam and the Turkwell Hydro Electric Multi Purpose Dam. Minister of East African and Regional Co-operation Although he remained