Charles Providence Gomis (5 February 1941 – 16 July 2021) was a diplomat from the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. He was briefly Minister of Foreign Affairs from March 2000 until October 2000.

Early life

Mr. Gomis was born in Grand Bassam,

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...

. In the early fifties, Charles Gomis studied at the Saint-Charles Institution in Thouars, France. He graduated from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, with a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Political Science.

Career

Ambassador Charles Gomis was appointed by the President of the Republic Vice-President of the Senate of Cote d'Ivoire in 2020. He was appointed Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire in France, Portugal and Monaco from 2013 until 2020, with residence in Paris, France. In December 2007, Charles Gomis joined SIFCA, a leading African agribusiness group based in Cote d’Ivoire, as Special Advisor to the CEO and Management Team. Mr. Gomis brings his wealth of experience and network following a four-decade career in the public and private sectors, and with international institutions in Africa and worldwide. With Sifca, Mr. Gomis advises and assists the CEO in the implementation of strategic business and sustainable development initiatives. Before his tenure at Sifca, Mr. Gomis was a senior official of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (MONUC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo from September 2002 to September 2007, as Director of the Political Affairs Division at the MONUC Head Office in Kinshasa and as Director of the MONUC Office in Ituri (Eastern D. R. Congo). Mr. Gomis participated in the complex preparation of the first democratic elections ever held in DRC. From June 1995 to September 2001, Mr. Gomis was Special Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank where he kept the ADB President abreast of political and economic trends and events, and contributed to the design of institutional strategies. Mr. Gomis also served the government of Cote d’Ivoire as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2000); He was a

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United ...

to the Millennium Summit. He was Cote d’Ivoire Ambassador to the United States, the Bahamas, Mexico (1986 – 1994), Columbia and Brazil (1978 – 1986); Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (1967 – 1973). While on post in the United States, Ambassador Gomis lead several initiatives to promote business and social partnerships between the United States and Africa including the first African and African-American Summit in Abidjan. During his tenure in Brazil, Ambassador Gomis spearheaded the establishment of several Brazilian companies in Cote d’Ivoire including bi-weekly Varig Airlines flights, representative offices and branches for Banco do Brasil and Banco Real. Mr. Gomis served on the Board of Directors of several public companies. He was Chairman and Director of SITRAM, Cote d’Ivoire’s first public shipping company (1973 – 1976), and Chairman of the Committee and Commission on Transactions for the Abidjan Stock Exchange (1976). Mr. Gomis holds a Masters of Arts in Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He is fluent in English and French, and is conversant in Spanish and Portuguese. He lived in Abidjan with his wife. He had four daughters, Henriette Gomis Billons, Sylvie Gomis Tanoh, Evelyne Gomis Nkontchou, and Camille Alexandra Gomis, and 9 grand-children. Distinctions include Commandeur de l'Ordre National de Côte d'Ivoire Commandeur Legion d'Honneur de France Recognized by the Congressional Record of the United States Grand-Cruz Ordem Rio Branco (Brazil) Grand-Croix Ordem do Cruzeiro do Sul (Brazil)

References

External links

Charles Gomis
at

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomis, Charles 1941 births 2021 deaths Foreign Ministers of Ivory Coast Ambassadors of Ivory Coast to Colombia Ambassadors of Ivory Coast to France Ambassadors of Ivory Coast to the United States Ambassadors of Ivory Coast to Brazil Ivorian diplomats Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite University of California, Los Angeles alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni People from Grand-Bassam Ambassadors of Ivory Coast to Mexico Ambassadors of Ivory Coast to the Bahamas

Early life

Career

See also

References

Further reading

External links