Monica Kathina Juma (born 26 September 1963) is a Kenyan diplomat who currently serves as National Security Advisor to President

William Ruto William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 January 1967) is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected Deputy President of Kenya, ...

. She previously served as the Cabinet Secretary for Defence in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

of President

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta ( born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Prime Minister of Kenya, Deputy Pri ...

Early life and education

Juma studied at the University of Nairobi for her Bachelors of Arts in Government & Public Administration and Masters of Arts in Government & Public Administration and

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, Certificate in Refugee Studies and where she also attained her Doctorate of Philosophy in Politics.

Diplomatic career

Juma has a long career in the diplomatic service, having served as Kenya's concurrent ambassador to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

, the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development and 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 ...

, based out of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

. On 27 June 2013, she was sworn in as the Principal Secretary, in the Kenya Ministry of Defence, serving in that capacity until she was moved to the Kenya Ministry of the Interior, as Principal Secretary.

Political career

Juma served as the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between January 2016 and February 2018. She served as the Principal Secretary in the State Department of Interior, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government. Prior to serving in the Ministry of Interior, Juma served as the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Defence. On 23 May 2024, Juma was among the guests invited to the

state dinner A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in their official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is held ...

hosted by

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

in honor of

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 ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Other activities

Juma is a senior research fellow in the Department of Political Science, at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the African Centre for Strategic Studies of the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

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 ...

. She has written and published extensively on the subjects of her specialization.

References

* Delegation from Kenya composed of Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretar
Dr. Monica Juma
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, Attorney General Paul Kihara, Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti and the director of Asset Recovery Agency returns Gold to Tanzania * EAC Secretary General Amb Liberat Mfumukek
paid a courtesy call on the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Kenya, Hon. Monica Juma on 13 September 2019
* Kenya will be re-affirming its commitment to globa
multilateralism during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly
at a time when the global community is facing uncertainty on key issues such as climate change.

External links