Jean-Paul Adam (born 12 June 1977) is a Seychellois politician. He served as Minister of Health and Social Affairs in the

Cabinet of Seychelles The Cabinet of Seychelles consists of the President of Seychelles, President, Vice President of Seychelles, Vice-president and the Ministers. It formulates the government's policies and advises the President. Current Cabinet April 2018 Cabinet ...

until 30 October 2020. He previously served as Minister of Finance, Trade & The Blue Economy from 2015 to 2016, and, before that, as

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

from 2010 to 2015. He is currently Director Policy, Monitoring and Advocacy in the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa to the Secretary-General. Immediately prior to this, over 2020–2023, he was Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management at the

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; , CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states (the nations of the Africa, African contin ...

Education and teaching

Adams received his early education in Seychelles. He then travelled to the UK, where he obtained a BA (Hons) in English literature and French at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

. After which, he proceeded to complete his MA in international political economy at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. Between January 2006 to January 2009, Adam taught international politics as a part-time lecturer with the Manchester University and Seychelles Polytechnic Twinning Programme, and, since 2007, has also been a member of the board of trustees of the Seychelles University Foundation.

Political career

Initially, Adam started his diplomatic career within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a trainee protocol officer (1996–1997) and then as second secretary (2001–2004). He later went on to serve as the director general of Presidential Affairs (2006–2007), principal secretary in the Office of the President (2007–2009), and secretary of state in the Office of the President (2009–2010), before being appointed minister for foreign affairs in June 2010.

Personal life

In addition to his experience as a public servant, on numerous occasions Adam has competed in swimming for Seychelles, often at an international level. In point of fact, he competed in the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, the 1994 World Swimming Championships in Rome, the 1998 World Swimming Championships in Perth, Australia, the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ( Malay: ), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games (Malay: ), were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th cen ...

, the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

and the 2003 World Swimming Championships in Barcelona. He won a bronze medal at the 1999 African Games held in Johannesburg, South Africa in the 4 x 200-metre freestyle relay. Moreover, in the Indian Ocean Island Games held in Seychelles, Reunion and Mauritius in 1993, 1998 and 2003 respectively, he also won silver and bronze medals. Adam is married and has two daughters.

Education and teaching

Political career

Personal life

References

External links