Lillian Aber is a Ugandan

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 ...

and

public administrator Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

who serves as the women representative for

Kitgum District Kitgum District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Uganda. It is named after its major town of Kitgum, where the district headquarters is located. It has suffered much fatalities and social disruption resultin ...

in the eleventh Parliament of Uganda. In 2024, Aber was appointed by President

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

as State Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Affairs in the office of the Prime Minister.

Education

In 2016, Aber earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Literature and Communication from

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

. She also earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

of Oil and Gas from

Uganda Christian University Uganda Christian University (UCU) is a private church-founded university administered by the Church of Uganda. It was the first private University in Uganda to be awarded a charter by the Government of Uganda. Location UCU's main campus, with a ...

in 2018 and another master’s degree in Public Administration and Management from

in 2019. Aber was also awarded an Honorary

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from Zoe Life Theological College in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

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Career

Aber's involvement in politics began at Makerere University. As a freshman, she won the election to become Guild Representative Councillor (GRC) of the School of Arts in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She was then appointed as a Guild Minister by the Guild President, Anna Ebaju Adeke that year. As a sophomore, she stood for the guild presidency on the

Forum For Democratic Change The Forum for Democratic Change (; FDC), founded on 16 December 2004, is one of the main opposition parties in Uganda. The FDC was founded as an umbrella body called Reform Agenda, mostly for disenchanted former members and followers of Preside ...

party ticket, but lost to Bwowe Ivan, who later appointed her as Guild Vice President. While Guild Vice President, she made a bid for the presidency of the Uganda National Students Union (UNSA) which she won in 2015, replacing Matanda Abubaker (the UNSA President from 2013 to 2014). Aber later moved from the Forum For Democratic Change party to the National Resistance Movement party when standing for the position of Chairperson of the National Youth Council. She was elected to this position in November 2015, polling 119 votes ahead of George Abudul who polled 105 votes. Aber is a senior presidential advisor on youth and a UN youth delegate. Aber also is a former

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

students association representative in charge of partnerships and advocacy. In 2018, Aber joined the Uganda

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 ...

al review team. In 2016 she had unsuccessfully stood for the

East African Legislative Assembly The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is a sub-organ of the larger East African Community, being the legislative arm of the Community. Members are sworn into five-year terms. History Since colonial times, a number of organizations have ...

(EALA). In January 2021, Aber won the women's representative seat for Kitgum District. In the 2021 general election, Aber won with 41,192 votes against Roselyn Alanyo Olobo of the

Uganda People's Congress The Uganda People's Congress (UPC; ) is a political party in Uganda. UPC was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence alongside UPC member of parliament A.G. Mehta. Obote later served two presidential terms un ...

and Norah Odokorach, an independent candidate.

Personal life

She is also the founder and director of Laber Foundation, a non-governmental charity organisation based in Kitgum.

References

External References

*https://x.com/Parliament_Ug/status/1752573213324796043 {{DEFAULTSORT:Aber, Lilian Living people Makerere University alumni Uganda Christian University alumni 1987 births Members of the 11th Parliament of Uganda