Leakey, Richard Erskine Frere (1944– )

Kenyan palaeoanthropologist and politician. In 1972 he discovered at Lake Turkana, Kenya, an apelike skull estimated to be about 2.9 million years old; it had some human characteristics and a brain capacity of 800 cu cm/49 cu in. In 1984 his team found an almost complete skeleton of Homo erectus some 1.6 million years old. He is the son of Louis and Mary Leakey.

He was appointed director of the Kenyan Wildlife Service in 1988, waging a successful war against poachers and the ivory trade, but was forced to resign in 1994 in the face of political interference. He was reappointed to the post in 1998. In 1995 he co-founded the Kenyan political party Safina (Swahili for Noah's Ark), which aimed to clean up Kenya. The party was accused of racism and colonialism by President Daniel arap Moi. Nevertheless, in July 1999 the president appointed Leakey head of the civil service in the country. He resigned in March 2001, having completed the task, during which he had made enemies in the government. The office of President Moi agreed that he should stand down immediately.

His wife Meave continues the search for fossil humans, and in 1995 announced the discovery of bones of Australopithecus anamensis, an upright hominid of about 4 million years ago.