Henry Oryem Okello is a

Ugandan Demographic features of the population of Uganda include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others. Population According to the total population was in , comp ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

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 ...

. He is the current State Minister for Foreign Affairs (International Affairs). He was appointed to that position in 2004. In the cabinet reshuffles of 1 June 2006, that of 16 February 2009, and that of 27 May 2011, he retained his cabinet post. He has previously served as State Minister for Sports, from 2001 until 2005. He also serves as the elected Member of Parliament for "Chua County",

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 ...

, until 2021.

Background and education

He was born in Chwa County in

on 21 January 1960. His late father was General Tito Lutwa Okello (1914–1996), who served as

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The President (government title), president leads the Executive (government), executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander- ...

between July 1985 and January 1986. Oryem Okello holds the degree of

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

with Honours, from the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, obtained in 1985. He also holds the degree of

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

, from the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, also in the UK, obtained in 1989. He was a practising

Barrister-at-Law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the law and giv ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, before he left to enter Uganda's politics in 2001.

Career

He practised as a legal executive between 1988 and 2000, in the United Kingdom. In 2001, he was elected to represent Chwa County, Kitgum District, in the Ugandan Parliament, serving continuously until 2006. He was appointed Minister of State for Education and Sports, responsible for sports, serving in that capacity concurrent with his parliamentary responsibilities, until 2005. In 2005 he was appointed to his current ministerial position. Between 2001 and 2005, he served as the

Anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

Vice President, Supreme Council for Sports in Africa. He did not contest his parliamentary seat during the 2006 elections. However, he remained a member of parliament, in an ex-official capacity, as a cabinet minister. Between 2006 and 2008, he served as a member of the government delegation to the

Juba peace talks Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a population of 525,953 in 20 ...

between the Ugandan Government and representatives of the

Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a Christian extremist organization operating in Central Africa and East Africa. Its origins were in the War in Uganda (1986–1994), Ugandan insurgency (1986–1994) against Yoweri Museveni, during which Jo ...

. On many occasions, he was the Deputy Leader of the Uganda Government Delegation, led by Ambassador

Ruhakana Rugunda Ruhakana Rugunda (born 7 November 1947) is a Ugandan physician and politician who was Prime Minister of Uganda from 2014 to 2021. He held a long series of cabinet posts under President Yoweri Museveni beginning in 1986. He served as Uganda's M ...

, the Ugandan Minister of Internal Affairs at that time. In the 2011 National Elections, Okello Oryem defeated the then MP for "Chua County", Okello Okello, 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 ...

political party, to regain his parliamentary seat. He is the current

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

MP. On 24 January 2024, He held a bilateral meeting with the Ambassador of Russia to Uganda, H.E. Vladlen Semivolos.

Personal details

Henry Oryem Okello is married.

References

External links

Full of List of Ugandan Cabinet Ministers May 2011Website of the Parliament of UgandaKitgum District Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okello, Henry Oryem 1960 births Living people People from Kitgum District 20th-century Ugandan lawyers Members of the 8th Parliament of Uganda Members of the 10th Parliament of Uganda Members of the 9th Parliament of Uganda Government ministers of Uganda Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of the University of Buckingham People from Northern Region, Uganda

Background and education

Career

Personal details

See also

References

External links