Kenyan diplomat Martin Kimani has been appointed the new United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

In a notice dated Monday, September 14, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Kimani’s appointment, succeeding Ghana's Martha Pobee, who has held the position since May 2021.

“Kimani brings to the position 25 years of experience in international relations, peace and security, and multilateral diplomacy across government, regional organisations and private sectors,” Guterres stated.

Before his latest appointment, Kimani served as Kenya's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York for four years, between 2020 and 2024.

📌 What You Need to Know

During Kenya’s tenure as a non-permanent member of the Security Council between 2021 and 2022, he served as President of the Council in October 2021.

At the time, he chaired its Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa, and co-chaired its Informal Expert Group on Climate and Security in 2022.

In 2023, he was the President of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Office for Project Services.

His earlier positions included serving as the Director of Kenya’s National Counter Terrorism Centre and the President’s Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism, between 2015 and 2020.

Between 2012 and 2015, he served as the Permanent Representative to the UN Environment Programme and UN-Habitat, as well as Director of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism.

Kimani holds a PhD and a master’s degree in War Studies from King's College in the United Kingdom and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of New Hampshire, United States.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke