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Amina Mohamed

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Amina Mohamed
[Aamina Maxamed Jibriil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
امينة محمد جبريل
Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Kenya
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 May 2013
PresidentUhuru Kenyatta
Preceded bySam Ongeri
Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme
In office
13 May 2011 – 20 May 2013
Appointed byBan Ki Moon
Preceded byAngela Cropper
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs
In office
2008–2011
Appointed byMwai Kibaki
Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations Office at Geneva
In office
2000–2006
Appointed byDaniel arap Moi
Personal details
Born (1961-10-05) 5 October 1961 (age 63)
British Kenya
Political partyIndependent
SpouseKhalid Ahmed
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Kiev (LLM)
Kenya School of Law
Oxford University (PGDip)
ProfessionLawyer, diplomat
EthnicitySomali
PositionsChair, GC of WTO (2005–06)
Chair, IOM (2002–03)
Websitewww.aminamohamed.org

Amina C. Mohamed Jibril (Template:Lang-so; Template:Lang-ar) (born 5 October 1961) is a Somali-Kenyan lawyer, diplomat and politician. She previously served as Chairwoman of the International Organization for Migration and the World Trade Organisation's General Council, as well as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. As of 20 May 2013, she is the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Kenya.[1]

Background

Personal life

Mohamed was born on 5 October 1961 in British Kenya to an ethnic Somali family. She is the eighth of nine siblings.[2] Her family belongs to the Dhulbahante Harti Darod clan,[3] and hails from the northern SSC region of Somalia.[4]

Mohamed spent her childhood in a modest household in Amalemba, Kakamega, where she passed much of her time reading Sherlock Holmes stories and other detective fiction. She later developed a taste for international affairs.[2]

In 2002, Amina married Khalid Ahmed, a fellow Somali to whom she credits a lot of her success. The couple have two children and also care for four orphans.[2]

Mohamed is multilingual, speaking Somali, Russian, English and Swahili, with a working knowledge of French.[5]

Education

For her elementary studies, Mohamed attended the Township Primary School of Kakamega and later Butere Girls and Highlands academies. Her mother believed strongly in the importance of education, and would frequently drop by her classes to monitor her performance.[2]

Upon graduation, Mohamed moved to Ukraine on a scholarship to study at the University of Kiev.[2] She completed the institution's courses, earning a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Law. Mohamed later obtained a second LLM degree from the Kenya School of Law, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in International Relations from the University of Oxford. Through a Fellowship at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), she also followed several training courses on international law.[6]

Career

General

In a professional capacity, Mohamed began her career in 1985 as a legal officer at the Kenyan Ministry of Local Government. Her duties there included assessing World Bank projects and tabling municipal by-laws.[2] Between 1986 and 1990, Mohamed served as a Legal Advisor in Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she drafted and negotiated various bilateral and international treaties.[2][5] Among these were Bilateral Air Services Agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iran and the United Kingdom, as well as the African Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although a number of job opportunities overseas were available, Mohamed chose to remain with her parents as her father was ailing.[2]

From 1990 to 1993, Mohamed acted as a Legal Advisor to Kenya's mission at the UN head office in Geneva, Switzerland.[2][5] There, she worked alongside officials from the International Labour Organisation, World Health Organisation and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organisation.[2] She subsequently took a brief sabbatical to pursue higher studies in the UK, before returning to diplomatic service in Geneva. In 1997, Mohamed began serving as Legal Advisor to the Kenyan delegation at the UN Security Council.[2][5]

Between 2000 and 2006, Mohamed worked as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative for the Kenya diplomatic mission in Geneva. She was also the Chairman, Coordinator and Spokesperson for the African Group in the WTO's Human Rights Commission. In 2002, Mohamed acted as President of the Conference on Disarmament and was appointed the first female Chairman of the International Organization for Migration.[2][5] She chaired the Trade Policy Review Body the following year, and served as the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body in 2004.[5]

In 2005, Mohamed became the first woman to chair the WTO's General Council.[2][7] She was also a Member of the Executive Boards and Committees of the WIPO, ILO, WHO, UNCTAD, UNHCR and UNAIDS from 2001 to 2005.[5]

Between 2006 and 2007, Mohamed acted as Director for both Europe and Commonwealth Countries as well as Diaspora matters. She also chaired the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Affairs' Committee on Strengthening and Restructuring.[5]

During the 2010–2011 calendar year, Mohamed served as the President of the United Nations Conference on Transnational Crime in Vienna. Additionally, she was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs from 2008 to 2011.[5]

In 2011, Mohamed was named UNEP's Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director.[7]

Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs

On 23 April 2013, Mohamed was appointed Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, one of 18 Cabinet Secretary nominees to the new Uhuru Kenyatta administration.[8] She was later sworn into office on 20 May 2013 at Sagana State lodge.[1]

Honours

Honours received by Mohamed include:[6]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amina Mohamed.

References

  1. ^ a b "Amina Mohammed sworn-in as Foreign Affairs Secretary". The Star. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Aluanga, Lillian (14 August 2011). "From tiny schoolgirl to Unep big boss". Standard Digital. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Wasiirka Arimaha Dibadda ee Kenya oo Gabar Soomaaliyeed oo kasoo jeedda Beesha Dhulbahante loo Magacaabay Akhri Taariikhdeedda". Puntland Observer. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Somali-Kenyan appointed to UN post (SSC origin)". Taleex Media Online. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Amina Mohamed – Bio". Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  6. ^ a b "AMBASSADOR AMINA C. MOHAMED, CBS, CAV" (PDF). World Trade Organization. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Amina Mohamed of Kenya appointed as Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme". UNEP. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  8. ^ Mayabi, Lordrick (23 April 2013). "Cabinet: Uhuru picks four fresh faces". Capital News. Retrieved 24 April 2013.


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