Dr. Jean Albergel, Emeritus Senior Scientist, Dr Albergel joined IRD (the French Research Institute for Sustainable Development) in 1979 and spent most of his working life in Africa; especially in semi-arid countries where he addressed four related scientific topics: (1) infiltration processes, runoff, erosion and fluxes transfers at the scale of cultivated catchments, (2) impacts of climate variability on water resources, (3) water and land management and ecosystem services under threat from climate change, (4) nexus water, energy, food security.

He has held the following positions in research management: (1) coordinator of the HYDROMED programme on small dams posted in Tunis (1995-2001), (2) laboratory director at the Montpellier Agricultural School (2001-2006), (3) representative of the French Research Institute (IRD) for East Africa, posted in Nairobi (2006-2012), (4) director of European affairs at the IRD headquarters (2012-2013), and (5) representative of the French research institutions in Southern Africa and director of the IRD-CNRS-CIRAD joint office in Pretoria (2013-2017), Special Advisor to Prof. Jean-Paul Moatti for the UN Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR 2019) and as director of the mission on expertise and consultancy (2017 – 2022). He retired in February 2022 with the status of Emeritus Senior Scientist and as Executive Secretary of the Commission for International Agricultural Research (CRAI) at the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

Prof. Alain Krief was born in Tunisia in 1942 and possess both Tunisian and French nationalities. He is living in Belgium since 1972 and is presently Emeritus Professor (Unamur, 2008). Alain Krief received his PhD (1970) from the University of Paris under the supervision of the late Prof. J. Ficini and realized his post-doctorate at Harvard University (1970-1971) under the supervision Prof. E. J. Corey (Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1990). He Joined the University of Namur where he created the department of Organic Chemistry (1972). He is also Adjunct Professor, HEJ Research Institute, University of Karachi, Pakistan and Senior Associate to the UNESCO UNISA Africa chair in Nanosciences & Nanotechnology (University of South Africa, Cape Town). He has been the Executive Director of the International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD, 2009-2020),the President of the Royal Chemical Society of Belgium (1993-1995), the President of the Janssen Prize for Creativity in Organic Synthesis (2002- 2008, Johnson & Johnson Company) and the President of the 40th Bürgenstock Conference (Switzerland, 2005).

Prof. Krief received a large number of honors and awards such as Prize of French Academy of Sciences for his outstanding research work on steroid biosynthesis (1985, France), International Prize Wernaers for knowledge broadcasting (1999, Belgium), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (1996, Japan). He was Visiting Professor at Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), University of Reims and University of Strasbourg (France), University of Bochum, University of Giessen, University of Hamburg, University of Honeheim, University of Stuttgart (Germany); Technion, Haifa, (Israel), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Japan), University of Karachi (Pakistan) and French speaking Swiss Universities (Switzerland).

Prof. Krief made outstanding contributions to organic chemistry, in particular to selenium organic chemistry. His research activities cover:

1. Synthesis of inorganic- and organoselenium reagents;
2. Synthesis of biologically active compounds such as pyrethroid insecticides, anti-aging agents, MAO inhibitors, nitrogen fixation compounds, Antiviral compounds (anti Aids, commercialized by Johnson&Johnson);
3. Bioorganic chemistry: study of the mechanism of steroid biosynthesis; generation of antibodies directed towards enantioselective transformations;
4. Chemical knowledge organization and transfer including e-learning, ontology building, semantic rich description of chemical structures;
5. Acting with words to collaboratively promote & reform chemical sciences. He has published 372 scientific papers including in high impact journals such as Nature Chemistry, Nature Reviews Chemistry, Chemical Reviews, Chem. Comm., Angew. Chem. Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XCX6DKgAAAAJ&hl=en

Dr. A. K. Tyagi joined Chemistry Division, BARC in 1986 through BARC Training School. Presently he is Director, Chemistry Group, BARC, Mumbai and also a Senior Professor (Chemistry) at Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai. His research interests are in the field of nanomaterials, functional materials, nuclear materials, metastable materials and Hybrid materials. He has published about 650 papers in international journals, 10 books and several review articles.  He has supervised 33 students for their PhD. He is a voracious speaker who has delivered a large number of invited talks, keynote lectures and popular lectures.

He has been conferred with a number of prestigious awards such as such as DAE-Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award, DAE-SRC Outstanding Researcher Award, DAE-Group Achievement Award; MRSI Medal; MRSI-ICSC Materials Science Senior Award; MRSI-CNR Rao Prize in Advanced Materials; CRSI Bronze Medal; CRSI-CNR Rao National Prize in Chemical Sciences; CRSI-Silver Medal; Medal of Indian Nuclear Society; Rheometric-ITAS Award; ISCAS-Dr. Lakshmi Award; IANCAS-Dr. Tarun Datta Memorial Award; R. D. Desai Memorial Award of Indian Chemical Society; Rajib Goyal Prize in Chemical Sciences; ISCB Excellence Award in Chemical Sciences; CCRS Award in Chemical Sciences; ISCA Platinum Jubilee Lecture Award in Materials Science; Metallurgist of the Year award from Ministry of Steel, GoI; JNCASR-National Prize in Solid State and Materials Chemistry; ISCA Acharya PC Ray Memorial Award; NASI – Prof. N.R. Dhar Memorial Award and JNCASR-Prof. AV Rama Rao Foundation Lecture Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry; National Academy of Sciences, India; Indian Academy of Sciences and Indian National Academy of Engineering.

He did postdoctoral research at Max-Planck Institute, Stuttgart, Germany (1995-96) and subsequently has been a visiting scientist to several countries like USA, France, Canada, Japan, Russia, Germany, China, Portugal, Singapore, Australia, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Israel, Malaysia and South Africa.

Dr. Richard Leakey is currently a Professor of Anthropology at Stony Brook University, New York where he also serves as the Founder and Chair of the Turkana Basin Institute, a Kenya based research facility that studies the history of life, past climate change and origins of humans.  Until recently he was the Chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service. Most of his life has been devoted to research on human origins, conservation of wildlife and public service.   

 Formerly Director of Kenya’s National Museums, Director of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Department, founding Director and Chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Member of Parliament in Kenya and Head of the Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet, Richard Leakey is now focused on funding  the research institute at
Turkana, the Turkana Basin Institute. 

 Currently he is establishing NGAREN, a stand-alone, one of its kind memorial and celebration of our origins in Africa.  Richard Leakey has played a key role in efforts to combat elephant and rhino poaching in the early 1990s which continues and, he has actively campaigned for the protection of the Great Apes.  He has become increasingly vocal about the threats to biodiversity arising from global climate change and the human population growth. 

 
Richard Leakey is a Kenyan, resides in Nairobi but travels widely to promote his concerns and interests.  He has published widely and participated in many documentaries. 

Graça Machel is an African stateswoman whose decades long professional and public life is rooted in Mozambique’s struggle for self-rule and international advocacy for women and children’s rights. She is a former freedom fighter in Mozambique’s FRELIMO movement and that country’s first Minister of Education.

In the years following her tenure in government, Machel produced a ground-breaking UNICEF report “The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children” that changed the way the United Nations and member states respond in conflict zones. Since then, she has worked tirelessly in support of global health, child welfare, and women’s rights and empowerment.

Machel works through several regional and international development bodies to accelerate social transformation. Machel is a founding member and Deputy Chair of The Elders, and played a key role in establishing Girls Not Brides. She is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group.

Machel lends her expertise to a number of organizations in a governance role. She serves as Board Chair of the Africa Child Policy Forum, Board Chair of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, Board Chair of United People Global as well as Executive Chair of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies. Machel is a Board Member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the Kofi Annan Foundation, and Education Above All. She is Board Chair Emeritus for the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) and is a UNICEF Young People's Agenda Global Advisory Board Member. She is Chairperson of Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust and a Trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. She also sits on the Jack Ma Netpreneur Advisory Board.

Additionally, she is the Chancellor of the African Leadership University and the President of SOAS.

Machel has created three non-governmental organizations in her own right. She founded and serves as President of the Foundation for Community Development and the Zizile Institute for Child Development. She founded the Graça Machel Trust in 2010 where she focuses on advocating for women’s economic and financial empowerment, food security and nutrition, education for all, as well as good governance.

Among numerous awards, Machel has received the United Nations’ Nansen Refugee Award in recognition of her long-standing humanitarian work. In 1997, she was made an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She is a member of the Ambassador David M. Walters International Paediatric Hall of Fame. In 2018, she was awarded the World Health Organization’s highest honour, the WHO Gold Medal, for her enormous contributions to the health and wellbeing of women, children and adolescents. She was also acknowledged by Women Deliver with their 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Graça Machel has dedicated her life to improving the fate of women and children, inspiring hope, and building a more just and equitable world for us all.

Professor Thulisile Madonsela is the Law Trust Chair in Social Justice and Law Professor at the University of Stellenbosch. She was named amongst Time magazine’s 100 most influential People in the world in 2014.

An Advocate of the High Court of South Africa, she served as South Africa’s Public Protector for seven years.  The Public Protector is an oversight institution mandated to support and strengthen democracy. She is one of the drafters of South Africa’s Constitution and co-architect of several laws that have sought to anchor South Africa’s democracy. Furthermore, she is a co-architect and Founding Chairperson of the African Ombudsman Research Centre, as well as, a co-founder and one of the inaugural leaders of the South African Women Lawyers Association.

She is a remarkable African woman, a Pan Africanist visionary who has been a lifelong activist for social justice, constitutionalism, human rights, good governance and the rule of law, and was one of the drafters of the South African Constitution. In 2014 she was named among Time Magazine’s t 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2016 was Forbes Africa Person of the year.

Thuli Madonsela is revered in the rest of Africa and globally for her integrity and fearlessness in enforcing accountability and justice in the exercise of public power and use of public resources. Her work has received national and global recognition, including several lifetime achievement awards.

She has five honorary Doctor of Laws (LL D) degrees from the University of Cape Town, the University of the Witwatersrand, Stellenbosch University, the University of Fort Hare, and Rhodes University. She has had numerous other accolades, including the Law Society of South Africa’s Trust and Justice Award, the General Council of the Bar of South Africa’s Sydney and Felicia Kentridge Award, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association’s Truth and Justice Award, Transparency International’s Integrity Award, the German Africa Prize and African Anti-Corruption Crusader.

Dr Mamphela Aletta Ramphele, Ph.D., BComm serves as an Adviser to the Veolia Institute. Dr Ramphele served as Managing Director of Human Development Network at The World Bank Group from May 2000 to July 2004. Dr Ramphele started her career in the seventies as a student activist in the Black Consciousness Movement. She has worked as a Medical Doctor, Civil Rights Leader, Community Development Worker, Academic Researcher and a University Administrator. She served as the Chairperson of Circle Capital Ventures (Pty) Ltd. Dr Ramphele served as the Chairperson of Gold Fields Ltd. from November 2, 2010, to February 2013 and its Non-Executive Director from July 1, 2010, to February 2013. She serves as the Chairman of South African Technology and Innovation Agency. She serves as Executive Chair at Letsema Circle. She serves as Chair of Convenors at Dinokeng Scenarios. She serves as the Chairperson of Medi-Clinic Corporation Limited and Technology Innovation Agency. She was the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Independent Development Trust (IDT) in South Africa and the Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the World Bank's Economic Development Institute. Dr Ramphele serves as a Member of Advisory Board of ix: Africa. She serves as a Trustee at The Rockefeller Foundation. She serves as a Director of Anglo American Plc. She served as a Non-Executive Director of Business Partners Limited until December 4, 2009. She served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Remgro Ltd. from November 4, 2009, to January 31, 2013. She served as a Non-Executive Director of Mediclinic International Limited from March 17, 2005, to July 26, 2012. She served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Anglo American plc from April 25, 2006, to July 25, 2012. She served as Independent Non-Executive Director of MTN Group Limited from June 13, 2006, to March 2008. She served as a Director of Standard Bank Group Limited and Standard Bank of South Africa Limited from March 17, 2005, to May 2007. She joined the University of Cape Town as a Research Fellow in 1986 and was appointed as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor five years later. In September 1996 she took up her post as Vice Chancellor, becoming the first black woman to hold this position at a South African university. She has received numerous prestigious national and international awards including 20 honorary doctorates acknowledging her scholarship, her service to the community and her leading role in raising development issues and spearheading projects for disadvantaged persons throughout South Africa. Dr Ramphele qualified as a Medical Doctor at the University of Natal in 1972. She holds a PhD degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Cape Town, a B.Com. in Administration from the University of South Africa and diplomas in Tropical Health and Hygiene and Public Health from the University of Witwatersrand.

Prof.Dr. Ashraf Mansour is an Egyptian Scientist who was awarded his Ph.D. in the polymer physics from the State University of Ulm and got his Habilitation & Professorship from Germany Prof. Ashraf Mansour is the prime founder of the German University in Cairo. He is the one who initiated the idea, convinced various parties including intellectuals and interested figures in industry and business to join and secure the required funds to launch the first step in the project. Now, Prof. Ashrafs leadership and devotion towards GUC is maintained and extended through his post as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Naledi Pandor was born on 7th of December, in 1953  Durban. She received most of her education in exile and matriculated at Gaborone Secondary School in Botswana. She obtained a BA in History and English at the University of Botswana in 1977 before leaving for overseas where she subsequently graduated with a MA at the University of London. Back in South Africa she was awarded a MA in Linguistics at Stellenbosch University in 1997.

Before becoming the Minister of Education in 2004, Naledi Pandor was involved in educational issues in various ways. She taught English in both Botswana and London and then lectured at the University of Botswana before joining the University of Cape Town in 1989 as a senior lecturer.

Following South Africa's first democratic election in 1994 Pandor was elected to Parliament, and in 1995, she became a Whip and then Deputy Chief Whip of the ANC. She also convened the Sub-Committee on Higher Education in the Education Portfolio Committee. In 1996, Pandor was appointed as member of the Cape Technikon Council. In August 1998 she became the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and in 1999 she was elected Chairperson. Pandor is the current Minister of International Relations and Cooperation. She previously served as the South African Minister of Higher Education, serving as of 28 February 2018 until May 2019, having previously held the post from 2009-2012. She was Minister of Home Affairs from 2012-2014. 

Positions:

• 1994: Member of Parliament, Chairperson Luthando Investments, Director of National Council of Provinces
• 1995 - 1998: Deputy Chief Whip
• 2000: Chancellor of Cape Technikon
• 2004: Minister of Education
• 2012-2014: Minister of Home Affairs
• 2014-2018:Minister of Science and Technology 
• 2019:Minister of International Relations and Cooperation

Carlos Lopes (born 1960) is a Bissau-Guinean development economist and civil servant. He was executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa from September 2012 to October 2016, and is a visiting fellow at the Oxford Martin School of the University of Oxford,and a visiting professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance of the University of Cape Town. In 2018 he was appointed High Representative of the Commission of the African Union.

Lopes took a PhD in history from the Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris, and has a research master's degree from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He has honorary doctorates from Hawassa University in Ethiopia and from the Universidade Cândido Mendes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

From 1988, Lopes held various positions with the United Nations. He has been a representative in Brazil and in Zimbabwe, he was director of political affairs in the office of the Secretary-General, he was director for development policy at the United Nations Development Programme, he was director of the United Nations System Staff College and an executive director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. From 2012 to 2016 he was executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Born in 1970, Carlos Moedas holds a degree in civil engineering from the Instituto Superior Técnico and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has worked for Goldman Sachs and Eurohypo Investment Bank. Elected a Member of Parliament in 2011, he was appointed Secretary of State working directly under the Prime Minister. In this capacity, he was Portugal's chief interlocutor with the Troika (Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund), and also supervised the implementation of the programme agreed with the international creditors. 

A career educationalist, Prof. Gachukia is the Academic Director of the Riara Group of Schools, which comprises two Kindergartens, two Primary Schools and a Girls’ Secondary School. She is also the Vice-Chair, Riara University Governing Council. Riara University is the latest innovation in higher education in Kenya, designed to be the regional university of choice with the goal of nurturing innovators. She was the Founding Executive Director, Forum for African Women Educationalists (1993-1999) later serving in its Executive Committee (2002-2004).

FAWE has a presence in 35 African countries and has received several Awards and Honours for its contribution to female education in Africa.

At the National Level she has served as Chairperson, Moi University Council (2003-2006), Senior Lecturer and Chairperson, Department of Literature, University of Nairobi (1971-1993); Chairperson, Task Force on implementation of Free Primary Education in Kenya (2003); and another on the provision of Affordable Secondary Education in Kenya (2006); Member of the Board of Trustees United States International University (USIU) –Kenya (1999-2007) and Vice-Chairperson (2007-2010); Member, Board of Trustees Population Council, New York (1987 to June, 1995).Currently, Vice-Chairperson of Starehe Girls’ Centre Board of Trustees, of which she was one of the founding Trustees. Starehe Girls’ Centre is a secondary school for brilliant yet disadvantaged girls who require full sponsorship. Over 90% of girls admitted to Starehe gain University entry. She was a Member of Parliament representing women’s interests (1974-1983). She also served in the top leadership of the National Council of Women of Kenya, the Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization, and the Collaborative Centre for Gender and Development, of which she is the Patron.

She played leadership roles in the U.N conferences on Women – Mexico (1975), Copenhagen (1979), Nairobi (1985) and Beijing (1995), representing the Government of Kenya and national Non-Governmental Organizations. Dr. Gachukia has served on many Governing Boards nationally and internationally. She has also served on the Boards of numerous Secondary Schools in Kenya.

She has been published severally in literacy criticism, Gender and Development, Education and Child Development related issues.

She has a passion for education generally and girls’ education in particular. She has provided leadership in Chairing Education Task Forces on Education at the request of the Government of Kenya.

Prof Patrick Lumumba is an eloquent Kenyan legal practitioner and an Advocate of the High Courts of Kenya and Tanzania. He has received many prestigious awards from local and internationally renowned organisations and institutions.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya FCPS (K), a Member of the Kenya Institute of Management and a Certified Mediator. Lumumba was the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya School of Law until 2017.  He is an Associate Professor of Public Law and Founding Dean, Kabarak University School of Law.  He is a former Secretary of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission and former Director of the defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC): Now Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. He is the Founding Trustee of the African Institute for Leaders and Leadership and founding Chairman of the Association of the Citizens Against Corruption. In 2001, he was appointed to serve in the National Committee on Implementation of International Humanitarian Law.

A pan Africanist who is passionate about promoting equal rights, good governance and African unity, Lumumba shares The AAS value of shifting the centre of gravity to allow Africa to own and define its agenda. A firm proponent in advancing the African identity, Lumumba believes that the future of Africa lies in good leadership and the in hands of its people who must grow their confidence and self-belief and become increasingly self-reliant. His influence on African politics and international political culture is undeniable advancing belief that African politics should accommodate divergent views and voices. His depth of knowledge, pan Africanism and that he is a proponent of good governance is what undoubtedly qualifies him to be an Honorary Fellow of The AAS.

Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki of the Republic of Niger is the Chief Executive Officer of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency. He was appointed to the position in January 2009. A former Prime Minister of Niger, from 1997 to 2000, Dr. Mayaki has a Master’ degree from the National School of Public Administration (Enap), Quebec, Canada and a PhD in Administrative Sciences from the University of Paris I, France. He worked as a Professor of Public Administration in Niger and Venezuela. From 1996 to 1997 he was appointed Minister in charge of African Integration and Cooperation and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Niger. In August 2000, he set up the Analysis Centre for Public Policy in Senegal. From 2000 to 2004, Dr. Mayaki was a guest Professor at the University of Paris XI, where he lectured on international relations. He also led research at the Research Centre on Europe and the Contemporary World within that university. In 2004, he served as Executive Director of the Platform in support of Rural Development in West and Central Africa, the Rural Hub, based in Dakar, Senegal.

Strive Masiyiwa is a London-based Zimbabwean businessman, and philanthropist. He is the founder and executive chairman of the telecommunications, media and technology company Econet Wireless.

Masiyiwa is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. As a Panel Member, he facilitates coalition building to leverage and broker knowledge and convenes decision-makers to influence policy for lasting change in Africa.

He has won numerous accolades and gained international recognition for his business expertise and philanthropy, and is considered one of Africa's most generous humanitarians. Masiyiwa has used his wealth to provide scholarships to over 100,000 young Africans over the past 20 years through his family foundation. He supports over 40,000 orphans with educational initiatives, as well as sponsoring students at universities in America, The United Kingdom, and China. He also funds initiatives in public health and agriculture across the African continent.

Founder of Academy of Science of South Africa and National Research Foundation, Khotso David Kenneth Mokhele is a businessperson who has been at the head of 10 different companies and currently is Chairman for AECI Ltd., Chairman of Tiger Brands Ltd. and President at The Hans Merensky Foundation. Dr. Mokhele is also Chancellor at the University of the Free State and on the board of 9 other companies. 

He previously held the position of Non-Executive Chairman at Adcock Ingram Holdings Ltd., Non-Executive Chairman at Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., Chairman & Chief Executive Officer for ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd., President & Chief Executive Officer of National Research Foundation, President of Academy of Science of South Africa and President at National Research Foundation. 

He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Fort Hare and a doctorate and a graduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Serêtsê Khama Ian Khama is a former military officer and retired politician who served as the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, he entered politics and served as Vice-President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008, then succeeded Festus Mogae as President on 1 April 2008. He won a full term in the 2009 election and was re-elected in October 2014.

Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician who has been the President of the Republic of the Congo since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992.

Olusegun Obasanjo was president of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, from 1999 to 2007. He oversaw his country’s first democratic handover of power and administrative reforms that accelerated economic growth.

Mr Obasanjo has played a pivotal role in the regeneration and repositioning of the African Union, including helping to establish the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), designed to promote democracy and good governance. He has consistently supported the deepening and widening of regional cooperation through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Co-prosperity Alliance Zone incorporating Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo. He has served as chairman of the Group of 77, chairman of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and chairman of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee.

Mr Obasanjo has also been involved in international mediation efforts in Angola, Burundi, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa. In 2008, the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, appointed Mr Obasanjo as his Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region, where he has played an integral part in mediation efforts in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mr Obasanjo was born on March 5, 1937, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, South Western Nigeria. He attended Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta, then worked as a teacher before enlisting in the Nigerian Army in 1958.