Kituyi gets nod to head UN agency
UNCTAD secretary-general Mukhisa Kituyi said at the launch of the report in Nairobi that boosting incomes “at the base of the pyramid” is the surest way of growing the economy rather than depending on international trade. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL | FILE |
What you need to know:
- Dr Kituyi will become the 10th Secretary-General of UNCTAD and the first Kenyan to head a UN agency
Dr Mukhisa Kituyi has been formally appointed to head United Nations Conference on Trade and Development after he was approved by the UN General Assembly on Monday.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that Dr Kituyi would take over from Mr Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand, who leaves office in August this year.
“Kituyi brings to this position a combination of proactive leadership and strategic management with hands-on experience in the global trading system,” the statement read in part.
Dr Kituyi, 57, who will become the 10th Secretary-General of UNCTAD, had been nominated by the UN chief last month.
He will become the first Kenyan to head a UN agency. Before this appointment, Dr Kituyi had served as a Trade minister and MP for Kimilili constituency.
From 2008, he served as executive director of the Kenya Institute of Governance — an institution that focuses on linking the academia with public policy.
Dr Kituyi studied Political Science and International Relations at Makerere University, Uganda, and Social Anthropology and Comparative Production Systems at the University of Bergen in Norway.
