Simon Pierre Kibanda (8 March 1927 – December 1999) was a Central African diplomat who held various ambassadorial positions.

Early life and education

Kibanda was born in

Kouango Kouango is a town located in the Central African Republic Prefectures of the Central African Republic, prefecture of Ouaka. History In February 2013 Kouango was captured by Séléka rebels. It was recaptured by government forces on 8 March 202 ...

on 8 March 1927 and belongs to Gbanziri. He enrolled at École supérieure de territoire in

Bambari Bambari is a town in the Central African Republic, lying on the Ouaka River. It has a population of 41,356 (2003 census) and is the capital of Ouaka prefecture. Bambari is an important market town and home to Bambari Airport, and the Roma ...

from 1942 to 1945.

Career

Kibanda began his career as a school teacher. Later, he was promoted to primary school inspector. In 1960, he joined

Ministry 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 relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

as a diplomat. He was assigned to the United States in September 1960 as first secretary at Embassy of Central African Republic in the US. He was posted to France in January 1961 and worked as first secretary at the Embassy of the Central African Republic in Paris. Kibanda was appointed as the Ambassador of the Central African Republic to Israel on 23 January 1962. In 1963, he became the first Ambassador of the Central African Republic to Chad. Afterward, he served as the Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany. Later, he worked as a secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1970. Bokassa assigned Kibanda as the head of the protocol service in 1971. Two years later, he served as the ambassador to the Republic of China and arrived in Taiwan on 4 March 1973. He then served as a Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 1978.

Death

Kibanda died in December 1999 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Personal life

Kibanda married an Israeli woman named Sonia. He was the maternal uncle of

Catherine Samba-Panza Catherine Samba-Panza (; born 26 June 1954) is a Central African politician who served as Transitional President of the Central African Republic from 2014 to 2016. She was the first woman to serve as head of state in the Central African Republ ...

and took care of Panza when her family moved to

Bangui Bangui (; or Bangî in Sango language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...

in 1970.

Award

*, Commander Order of Central African Merit - 23 January 1967.

References

{{reflist 1927 births 1999 deaths People from Ouaka Ambassadors of the Central African Republic to Israel Ambassadors of the Central African Republic to Chad Ambassadors of the Central African Republic to West Germany Ambassadors of the Central African Republic to Taiwan Permanent representatives of the Central African Republic to the United Nations