Dr. Gilbert Bukenya returned to Uganda as a Professor of Medicine and was appointed dean of Makerere University School of Medicine, a position he held from 1994 until 1996. In 1996 he entered politics and was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Busiro North constituency. He also served as Chairman of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) parliamentary caucus. During this period he is credited for having managed to defuse the tension that was boiling up between President Museveni and other historical leaders of the ruling NRM. He was the Vice President and was chairman of the ruling NRM party in the Buganda region. Dr. Bukenya subsequently became Minister of State for Trade and Industry before being elevated to Minister of the Presidency. He became Vice President in 2003 replacing Dr. Specioza Kazibwe. He recently stood for the post of Secretary General of the ruling NRM and lost to the incumbent Amama Mbabazi. In May 2011, he was replaced as Vice President of Uganda by Edward Kiwanuka Sekandi.