Charles Murigande (born August 15, 1958) is a

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

n political veteran (currently in retirement) who served in the government of Rwanda as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 2002 to 2008, as Minister of Governmental Affairs from 2008 to 2009, and as Minister of Education from 2009 to 2011. His last position was a Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Institutional Advancement of the University of Rwanda. Prior to being appointed to his current post, he served as Ambassador of Rwanda to Japan with concurrent accreditation to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and the Philippines from August 2011 to April 2015.Currently, Ambassador Charles Murigande is the Chairman of the Kepler College’s Governance Council(Rwanda).

Early life and education

Murigande was born in

Butare Butare (), also known as Huye, is a city (population: 50,220 as of 2012) in the Southern Province of Rwanda and the capital of Huye district. It is the fourth largest town in Rwanda by population. History The Belgian colonial rulers establishe ...

. In 1960 following the civil strife that preceded Rwanda's independence, his family fled to

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

, where he grew up as refugee. He did his primary, secondary and part of his

university education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completio ...

in Burundi. He did his graduate and

post-graduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

in Belgium where he obtained in 1986 (with the Greatest Distinction/Sum

Cum Laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

), a Ph.D in Mathematics from the Facultés Universitaires Notre Dame de la Paix, in Namur.

Career

From 1986 to 1988 he worked as a scientific adviser to the Director General of the Geographical Institute of Burundi (IGEBU) and was at the same time Head of the Computing Center of the Institute. He joined

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, Washington D.C., U.S.A in January 1989 as a

Post-doctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral rese ...

fellow, where he later became an

Assistant Professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

and Head of the Biostatistical Division of College of Medicine. Following the 1994

genocide in Rwanda The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

which claimed about one million lives, Murigande abandoned his academic career at Howard University and went back to Rwanda to contribute to the reconstruction of his country. During the

Rwandan Civil War The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose ...

, he was the Spokesperson of the

Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi, french: Front patriotique rwandais, FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, winn ...

(RPF) in the United States. Since 1994, Murigande has served in the following positions: * From September 1994 to August 1995, Adviser to the President on Foreign Affairs * From September 1995 to March 1997,

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

and Communications * From April 1997 to May 1998, Rector of the

National University of Rwanda The National University of Rwanda (NUR; rw, Kaminuza nkuru y’u Rwanda, french: Université nationale du Rwanda, UNR) was the largest university in Rwanda. It was located at in the city of Butare and was established in 1963 by the government ...

* Murigande was elected Secretary General of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) on February 15, 1998 and was reelected on December 23, 2002 * On November 15, 2002, Murigande became

and Regional Cooperation After more than five years as Foreign Minister, Murigande was moved to the position of Minister of Governmental Affairs in the government named on March 8, 2008. He was moved to the post of Minister of Education on July 26, 2009. Murigande was Minister of Education for nearly two years before being replaced by

Pierre Habumuremyi Pierre-Damien Habumuremyi (born 20 February 1961) is a Rwandan politician who served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 7 October 2011 until 24 July 2014. He previously served as Ministry of Education (Rwanda), Minister of Education from May 2011 to ...

in May 2011. He was then appointed as Ambassador to Japan. He presented his credentials to Emperor

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...

on 4 October 2011."Murigande presents credentials in Japan"
''The New Times'', 5 October 2011. During his academic life, Murigande has published several papers in international

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

Scientific Journals In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such as s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murigande, Charles 1958 births Living people Education ministers of Rwanda Foreign ministers of Rwanda Government ministers of Rwanda Rwandan refugees Rwandan expatriates in Belgium Rwandan expatriates in the United States Ambassadors of Rwanda to Japan