Richard Sezibera (born June 5, 1964, in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

) is a

n medical doctor,

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

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 ...

, who served as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 18 October 2018 until November 4, 2019. He replaced Louise Mushikiwabo. He was replaced by

Vincent Biruta Vincent Biruta (born July 19, 1958) is a Rwandan physician and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from November 2019 to June 2024. He previously served in various other positions in the Rwanda ...

on November 4, 2019. Previously, he was the 4th

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

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 ...

. He was appointed to that position by the East African Community Heads of State on 19 April 2011 for a five-year term. His term ended on 26 April 2016, when Libérat Mfumukeko of

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, became the 5th Secretary General of the East African Community.

Early life and education

Sezibera was born on 5 June 1964, in

. Sezibera received his early education in

. Sezibera went to Namutamba Demonstration School in the current Mityana Municipality. He then joined St. Mary's College Kisubi. In 1984, he entered Makerere University Medical School 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 the degree of

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

( MBChB) in 1989. Later, he obtained a

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 ...

( MA) degree in Liberal Studies from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in the

United States 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 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Career

Following his graduation at Makerere University, he worked at Mbuya Hospital in

, before transferring to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in Mbale, Eastern Uganda, where he worked in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 1990, he joined the Rwanda Patriotic Front / Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPF/RPA) as a field medical officer. He rose to the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

within the RPA in 1993. In July 1994, Sezibera was appointed ''Physician to the President of the Republic of Rwanda''. In this position, he concurrently served as military aide to the

President of Rwanda This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution), to the present day. The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive of the Republic of Rwanda. The presi ...

. In 1995, he became a Member of Parliament. He was elected President of the Parliamentary Commission on Social Affairs, which exercised oversight over the government departments mandated to deal with issues of health. In 1999, he was appointed Ambassador of Rwanda to 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 ...

, with concurrent accreditation to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He served in the Office of the President of Rwanda, as

Special Envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

to the

African Great Lakes Region The African Great Lakes (; ) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. The series includes Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world by area; Lake Tanganyika ...

and senior advisor to the President of Rwanda. Was also the chairperson of the Rwanda national coordination mechanism. He contributed to the first ever pact on security, stability, and development in the African Great Lakes region. He was also the chairperson of the Rwanda committee in regional integration, a high level committee that led Rwanda technical negotiations for accession to the East Africa Community. In 2008, Dr. Sezibera was appointed Minister of Health in the Rwandan cabinet, a position he held until 2011. In 2011: he was appointed East African Community Secretary General, by the Head of States summit held in Dar es Salaam on April 19, 2011. During his tenure, among the many things he did as EAC SG, he was the chairperson of the COMESA – SADC – EAC tripartite task force where he spearheaded the negotiations of the tripartite free trade area agreement (TFTA). The TFTA was signed by the Heads of State and Heads of Government in 2015. On a professional level, Sezibera is a member of the Rwanda Medical Association and a Fellow of the Institute for advanced studies in the humanities at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He served as Vice President of the World Health General Assembly and

chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

regional committee on Africa. He served as a commissioner on the UN Secretary General's Commission on accountability for

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

and

child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

ren's health. He is a member of GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccine) board first as minister of health in Rwanda, 2nd and 3rd time as an individual. He serves as the chairperson of the board's programme and policy committee.

Family

Sezibera is married to Eustochie Agasaro Sezibera. Together, they have five children.

References

External links

Ambassador Richard Sezibera Sworn In As EAC Secretary-General
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sezibera, Richard 1964 births Living people Military doctors Rwandan military personnel Rwandan physicians Foreign ministers of Rwanda Government ministers of Rwanda East African Community officials Makerere University alumni Georgetown University alumni Ambassadors of Rwanda to the United States Ambassadors of Rwanda to Mexico Ambassadors of Rwanda to Argentina Ambassadors of Rwanda to Brazil

Early life and education

Career

Family

See also

References

External links