Off the wire
• Illegal trade in ivory rife in Japan: conservationist groups  • Jordan's King says country will not tolerate using religion to incite sectarianism  • More political will needed to end conflicts, suffering: UN head  • British FTSE 100 rises 1.22 pct on Monday  • Roundup: Italy marks first National Remembrance Day for victims of immigration  • Spanish stock market falls 0.32 pct, closes at 8,751 points  • South Sudan denies losing control over border town  • CoP17 rejects proposal to trade in rhino horns  • Urgent: U.S. suspends negotiations with Russia over Syria ceasefire  • Russia summons Dutch ambassador over MH17 investigation  
You are here: 　 Home

Kenya nominates its foreign minister for top AU job

Xinhua, October 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has nominated Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed to contest the post of the chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission.

President Kenyatta said Monday his administration had submitted the candidature of Mohamed for consideration at the African Union summit in January 2017. Mohamed was appointed to her current position in 2013.

"Given her track record, I am confident that Mohamed will serve our continent with the requisite professionalism, intellect, skill, integrity, passion and commitment," Kenyatta said in a statement.

Mohamed will compete against former Ugandan Vice President Specioza Wandira Kazibwe, Botswana's Foreign Minister Pelonomi Venson Moitoi, and Equatorial Guinean Foreign Minister Agapito Mba Mokuy.

The post became vacant after the expiry of the term of South Africa's Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who had been at the AU Commission's helm since 2012.

The election of the members of the AU Commission held in Kigali, Rwanda in July were suspended as none of the three contenders for the position of the chairperson of the AU Commission obtained the required two-thirds majority, after seven rounds of voting.

During the election, the Botswana candidate got 16 votes, the Equatorial Guinean 12 votes, and the Ugandan 11 votes.

Mohamed is the first woman to have chaired the three most important bodies of the World Trade Organization -- the Trade Policy Body, the Dispute Settlement Body and the governing General Council of the WTO.

Mohamed was the first African and the first female chairperson of the Council of the International Organization for Migration.

She previously served as a member of the executive bodies and committees of the World Health Organization, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the World Intellectual Property Organization and the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS from 2001 to 2005.

In 2011, she was appointed by the UN Secretary General as the UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme. Endit