Uganda Joins Four Key WIPO Copyright Treaties

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Haji Abubaker Jeje Odongo (born July 9, 1951) is a

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n senior

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. In June 2021, he was appointed Uganda's cabinet minister for Foreign Affairs. He has previously served as

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the

Cabinet of Uganda There are 30 Cabinet ministers and 50 Ministers of State in the Cabinet of Uganda (2021 to 2026). The number of state ministers reduced by one in September 2024 after the death of Hon. Sarah Mateke who was the state minister for defence. Accor ...

from 2016 to 2022. Previously he served as

Minister of State for Defence The Minister of State for Defence is a mid-level position in the Ministry of Defence in the British government. It is currently held by Lord Coaker, who took the office on 8 July 2024. Responsibilities The minister has the following ministe ...

from February 2009 to June 2016.

History

Jeje Odongo was born in

Amuria District Amuria District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Amuria serves as the district headquarters. Location Amuria District is bordered by Otuke District to the north, Napak District to the northeast, Katakwi District to th ...

, in the

Teso sub-region Teso sub-region (previously known as Teso District) is a sub-region in Eastern Region, Uganda that consists of: * Amuria District * Bukedea District * Kaberamaido District * Kapelebyong District * Katakwi District * Kumi District * Ngora D ...

, in

Eastern Uganda The Eastern region is one of four regions in Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts , the Eastern Region contained 32 districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries ...

. He attended secondary school at

Ngora High School Ngora High School is a secondary boarding school for boys and girls in the Ngora institutional complex, Ngora District, Uganda. As of 2015, the school had 1357 students enrolled in class. It is one of the oldest educational establishments in Uganda ...

. He entered the Ugandan army in 1979. In 1994, Jeje Odongo was one of the ten army officers who represented the Ugandan military in the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

that drafted the 1995 Ugandan

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. In 1996, he was selected to replace Colonel Sserwanga Lwanga as the Political Commissar in the

Uganda People's Defense Force The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–4 ...

(UPDF). Also in 1996, he contested the parliamentary seat for Amuria District in the Ugandan Parliament. He won and was appointed as Minister of Defence soon after he entered parliament. In 1998, he resigned his parliamentary seat and his cabinet position and was appointed Commander of the Army, taking over from Major General

Mugisha Muntu Gregory Mugisha Muntuyera, commonly referred to as Mugisha Muntu (born October 1958), is a Ugandan politician and retired military officer. He is the current president of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), a political party he founde ...

. He served as army commander until 2001, when he was replaced by Major General

James Kazini Major General James Kazini (1957–2009) was a Ugandan military officer who served as Chief of Staff of the Uganda People's Defense Force from 2001 to 2003. History He was born in 1957 in the Basongora ethnic group, in Kasese District, in Wes ...

. In 2001, he was appointed as Minister without Portfolio, a position he occupied until 2004. In 2004, now at the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

, Jeje Odongo was appointed as Minister of State for the Environment. Between 2001 and 2006, he was one of 10 senior UPDF officers who represented the Ugandan military in the 8th Ugandan Parliament. In May 2008, Jeje Odongo graduated with the degree of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in International Relations and Diplomacy from

Nkumba University Nkumba University (NKU) is a chartered private university in Uganda. It was established in 1994 as part of a group of schools and colleges that originally grew from a kindergarten established in 1951. The university is not affiliated with any pa ...

. On 16 February 2009, he was promoted to

and appointed

. After seven years in that post, he was instead appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs in the cabinet list announced on 6 June 2016. On 18 February 2022 he participated in the European Union - African Union Summit in Brussels. A

controversy Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an op ...

arose when he greeted

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

, only after an intervention by

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

, which was considered a

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practis ...

attitude.

References

External links

Jeje Odongo Implicated in Illegal Detention of Traders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odongo, Jeje Living people People from Amuria District Ugandan Muslims 1951 births Politicians from Eastern Region, Uganda Teso people Ugandan generals Nkumba University alumni Government ministers of Uganda People from Teso sub-region National Resistance Movement politicians Ministers of foreign affairs of Uganda National Defence College, Kenya alumni Members of the 9th Parliament of Uganda Members of the 10th Parliament of Uganda Members of the 11th Parliament of Uganda