<P> Mark Richard Shuttleworth ( born 18 September 1973 ) is a South African entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Canonical Ltd. , the company behind the development of the Linux - based Ubuntu operating system . In 2002 , he became the first citizen of an independent African country to travel to space as a space tourist . He lives on the Isle of Man and holds dual citizenship from South Africa and the United Kingdom . </P>
who is the founder of the ubuntu project
Mark Richard Shuttleworth