Augustine Lyatonga Mrema (born 1945) is a Tanzanian politician and chairman of the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) party. Mrema is a member of the chaga tribe from Kiraracha Village in Kilimanjaro. He is the second born in a family of five children.
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From 1955 until 1963, Mrema attended primary and secondary education at Moshi, thereafter joining St.Patrick Teachers training college also in Moshi where he finished his Secondary education in 1965. In 1968 Mrema sat for the Cambridge University O-level exams. He joined the Kivukoni Political Education College, after which he was sent to Marangu for further training.
Mrema has been in the Tanzania Government, National Security Organisation and the CCM party since 1966, he held various positions including:
Even though Mrema has contested every presidential election in Tanzania since the country instituted a multiparty system in the early 1990s, his political career started in 1985 when he tried to run for MP in his home district of Kilimanjaro. His candidacy was blocked by the High Court, and in 1987 he was officially announced as the winner after a lengthy appeals process. He was able to retain his seat in 1990 without stiff competition. The fact that he was an MP enabled the president to appoint him to various cabinet positions. From 1990 to 1995 Mrema held various cabinet and high level government positions:
Mrema left CCM in 1995 and joined a new political party National Convention for Construction and Reform-Mageuzi. In the first multiparty election in 1995, he ran on the ticket of the National Convention for Construction and Reform-Mageuzi (NCCR-Mageuzi) party and won 27.77% of the vote. He finished third behind incumbent President Benjamin Mkapa of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and Ibrahim Lipumba of the Civic United Front (CUF), capturing 7.80% of the vote, this time on the ticket of the TLP. Running again as the TLP presidential candidate in the 14 December 2005 elections, Mrema was fourth out of ten candidates, winning 0.75% of the vote.