Geoffrey Jideofor Kwusike Onyeama (born 2 February 1956) is a Nigerian diplomat and politician who served as the minister for foreign affairs of Nigeria from November 2015 to May 2023. He was appointed minister by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

Early life and education

Onyeama was born to the family of Nigerian jurist Charles Onyeama. His family has links to the

Nigerian chieftaincy system The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the chieftaincy system that is native to Nigeria. Consisting of everything from the country's monarchs to its titled family Elder (administrative title), elders, the chieftaincy as a whole is one of the oldest contin ...

; his grandfather, Onyeama of Eke, was a

paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...

in Colonial Igboland. Onyeama holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree in political science from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1977 and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree in law from

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, in 1980. He holds a Master of Law (LL.M) from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1982 and a Master of Arts (M.A) in Law from

in 1984. Onyeama was admitted as a Barrister-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1983 and was also called to the English Bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1981.

Career

Onyeama began his career as a research officer in the Nigerian Law Reform Commission Lagos from 1983 to 1984. He then worked as a lawyer with Mogboh and Associates in

Enugu Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

from 1984 to 1985. In 1985, he joined the

World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to pr ...

(WIPO) as an assistant programme officer for development cooperation and external relations, Bureau for Africa and Western Asia. He rose through the ranks at the WIPO to become deputy director general for the development sector in 2009. In November 2015 he was appointed Nigeria's minister of foreign affairs by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Personal life

Onyeama is married and has three children. His current wife is Sulola, with whom Onyeama has two children. Previously, Onyeama was married to Christian Onoh's daughter, Nuzo Onoh, who is a renowned international author and the first African recipient of the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award, and they have a daughter together, Candice Onyeama, a screenwriter and filmmaker. On 19 July 2020, Onyeama went into medical isolation, after announcing that he had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In late August 2020, Onyeama recovered from COVID-19 coronavirus disease; and went back to his leadership service as HMFA: Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs at Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Author Dillibe Onyeama (1951–2022) was his brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onyeama, Geoffrey 1956 births Living people Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of the London School of Economics Columbia College (New York) alumni Federal ministers of Nigeria Foreign ministers of Nigeria Nigerian officials of the United Nations People from Enugu World Intellectual Property Organization people

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References