Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi (born October 20, 1956) is a Kenyan politician who served as Secretary-General of the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the United Nations General Assembl ...

UNCTAD UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the United Nations General Assembl ...

from September 2013 to February 2021 when he stepped down to run for the Kenyan Presidency. Prior to joining UNCTAD, Kituyi was Chief Executive of the Kenya Institute of Governance, based in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. He served as Kenya's Minister of Trade and Industry from 2002 to 2007. He dropped his presidential bid in March 2022 to support former Prime Minister

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He was the Member of Parliament (Kenya), Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata Constituency from 1992 to 2013 and has ...

. He began his education at Mbakalo DEB primary school.

Education and early career

He started his Primary Education at Mbakalo DEB Primary School in Mbakalo Ward. After attending St. Mary's School in Yala, Kenya, Kituyi obtained a BA in Political Science and International Relations 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 ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

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 ...

, graduating with honours and a PhD in Social Anthropology, a Master of Philosophy in Development Studies and a Diploma in Science, Comparative Production Systems, all from the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Prior to joining Parliament, Kituyi worked as director at the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), Nairobi and as Programme Officer at the Norwegian Agency for International Development
(NORAD)
also in Nairobi. He was elected to the Kenyan Parliament in 1992, and was twice re-elected. He was Kenya's Minister of Trade and Industry from 2002 to 2007. During this period, Kituyi chaired for two years the Council of Ministers of the

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...

(COMESA) and the African Trade Ministers' Council. He also served as chairman of the Council of Ministers of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, and was lead negotiator for Eastern and Southern African ministers during the European Union-ACP Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations. He was convenor of the agriculture negotiations carried out at the World Trade Organization's Sixth Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong, China in 2005. From 2008 to 2012, Kituyi was a member of a team of experts advising the presidents of the nations of the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation in East Africa. The EAC's membership consists of eight states: Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, S ...

on how to establish more effective regional economic links. From 2011 to 2012, he was a consultant for the

African Union Commission The African Union Commission (AUC) acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union. It is headed by a chairperson and consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of policy. The African ...

, where he helped to develop the structure for a pan-African free trade area. Immediately prior to becoming Secretary-General, Kituyi was Chief Executive of the Kenya Institute of Governance, based in Nairobi. The Institute is a think tank and advocacy organization that focuses on linking academic research and the development of public policy. During 2012, Kituyi also served as a non-resident fellow of the Africa Growth Initiative of the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

, Washington, D.C. He was a resident scholar there in 2011.

Politics

He was first elected to Parliament on a Ford-Kenya ticket in 1992, becoming the Opposition

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

. His predecessor was the late veteran politician, Elijah Mwangale. He was re-elected in 1997 and 2002. However, in the 2007 General Elections, he lost to newcomer David Simiyu Eseli of Ford-Kenya. Kituyi left Ford-Kenya and joined Narc-Kenya and later New Ford Kenya, a breakaway party formed by cabinet minister

Soita Shitanda Soita Shitanda (9 November 1958 – 24 May 2016) was a Kenyan politician. He belonged to New Ford Kenya and was elected to represent the Malava Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya. Soita represented Malava constituency from 1997, ...

Other activities

* International Gender Champions (IGC), MemberMembers
International Gender Champions (IGC).

Personal life

Kituyi is married to Ling Kituyi and they have four children. Ivar Makari Kituyi, Sitati Kituyi, Laila Kituyi and Thor Masaule Kituyi. On June 28, 2015, Ivar Makari Kituyi died at the age of 30. He suffered a diabetic attack. Ivar was buried at his father's Mbakalo Tongaren Constituency home. Siblings, Solomon Kituyi

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kituyi, Mukhisa Living people Kenyan Luhya people Makerere University alumni University of Bergen alumni Forum for the Restoration of Democracy – Kenya politicians National Rainbow Coalition – Kenya politicians Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) Government ministers of Kenya 1956 births Alumni of St. Mary's School, Yala