Who Is Amina Mohammed?

Seeing her from a distance, one will not fail to notice the elegance in her. She moves in calculated steps, has a charming smile and when she speaks, her eloquence forces you to sit tight and listen for as long as you wish. This is Ambassador Amina Mohammed for you. This begs the question, who is Amina Mohammed?

Ambassador (Dr.) Amina Mohammed has had a distinguished career in the Public Service spanning over 29 years covering a broad spectrum of domestic and international assignments. Through her hard work, experience and knowledge, she rose through the ranks in Kenya’s diplomatic service from that of a Legal Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the highest level of Ambassador/Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya to the UN in Geneva.

She later served as the Permanent Secretary for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs. She was then appointed the United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi.

As Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs, she supervised the drafting, negotiation and promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya (2010). At UNEP, Amb. Mohammed spearheaded the implementation of UNEP’s Medium Term Strategy and Programmes as well as on-going reforms. She was actively engaged with intergovernmental processes in implementing the RIO+20 outcomes and support efforts to enhance the funding base of the organization.

Following her appointment as Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2013, Amb. Mohammed has demonstrated solid leadership and strong negotiation skills, which have seen Kenya re-position herself in the international arena.

Amb. Mohammed has been instrumental in the restructuring, reforming and rationalisation of Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Missions abroad, and chaired the team that drafted Kenya’s foreign trade policy.

She has also been influential in promoting Africa’s agenda in multi-lateral fora including in the World Trade Organisation where she chaired the 10th Ministerial Conference, successfully hosted in Nairobi. She continues to champion for Africa’s voice to be heard within the United Nations System through the proposed United Nations Security Council reforms, with Kenya as a member of the AU Committee of Ten on the Security Council reforms.

Amb. Mohammed was recently honoured by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as one of the four UNDP Champions for the year 2016.

Amb. Mohammed holds a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Kiev and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters from KCA University and Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from Moi University. She is fluent in English, Russian and Swahili and has a working knowledge of French.

Today (Friday 9^th December 2016), Amina Mohammed is in Addis Ababa Ethiopia with five other competitors; Botswana’s Foreign Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, Chad’s foreign minister Moussa Faki Mahamat, Equatorial Guinea’s foreign minister Agapito Mba Mokuy and Senegal’s Bathily Abdoulaye who is the special UN envoy for Central Africa to battle it out for the Chair of African Union (AU). The debate will be streamed live here and the hashtag for Amina will be #Amina4AU. Join the conversation.