The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was the principal political party in the struggle for sovereignty in the East African state of Tanganyika (now Tanzania). The party was formed from the Tanganyika African Association by Julius Nyerere in July 1954 when he was teaching at St. Francis' College (which is now known as Pugu High School). From 1964 the party was called the Tanzania African National Union. In January 1977 the TANU merged with the ruling party in Zanzibar, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), to form the current Revolutionary State Party or Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). The policy of TANU was to build and maintain a socialist state aiming towards economic self-sufficiency and to eradicate corruption and exploitation, with the major means of production and exchange under the control of the peasants and workers (Ujamaa-Essays on Socialism; "The Arusha Declaration"). Julius Nyerere was the first President of Tanzania, serving from the 1960s to 1985. In 1962, Nyerere and TANU created the Ministry of National Culture and Youth. Nyerere felt the creation of the ministry was necessary in order to deal with some of the challenges and contradictions of building a nation-state and a national culture after 70 years of colonialism. The government of Tanzania sought to create an innovative public space where Tanzanian popular culture could develop and flourish. By incorporating the varied traditions and customs of all peoples of Tanzania, Nyerere hoped to promote a sense of pride, thus creating a national culture. Electoral history Presidential elections Bunge elections Note In the 1958–59 TANU won all seats the remaining 34 seats were appointed The Afro Shirazi party was the sole legal party in Zanzibar which is an autonomous region References External links http://www.tanserve.com/facts/index_files/history.htm 1954 establishments in Tanganyika Defunct political parties in Tanzania Parties of one-party systems Political movements in Tanzania Political parties established in 1954 Political parties disestablished in 1977 Politics of Tanganyika Tanganyika (territory) African and Black nationalist organizations in Africa African socialist political parties Chama Cha Mapinduzi Socialist parties in Tanzania