Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura (born 9 September 1962) is a
Senegalese
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 井仆井內丐中五 (Senegaali); Arabic: 塈堻媞塈 ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''R矇ewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 井仆不丐仆不五 ...
former diplomat and senior executive. She was appointed as the first female
Secretary General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''F矇d矇ration Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 19662010 Japanese ful ...
Gianni Infantino
Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (; born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss football administrator with Italian citizenship and the current president of FIFA. He was elected President of FIFA during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February 2016. He ...
on 13 May 2016 and assumed her post on 20 June 2016.
Previously she worked in various positions at the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. In 2018, ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' ranked her Number 1 in their Most Powerful Women in International Sports list, and the BBC listed her as one of their
100 women.
Career
After joining the
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in 1995, she served as
Country Director for
WFP
The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, 堥堭塈堿 塈堧媞堸堜 塈媢塈, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: 迮邾邽郇訄 郈郋迡郋赲郋郅赲迮郇 ...
in
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, 堿堥堛 ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
and
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: R矇publique du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and also worked at the
WFP
The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, 堥堭塈堿 塈堧媞堸堜 塈媢塈, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: 迮邾邽郇訄 郈郋迡郋赲郋郅赲迮郇 ...
headquarters in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. She covered numerous complex emergencies, including
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, 郋郋赲郋 ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosov禱s, links=no; sr, 迮郈訇郅邽郕訄 郋郋赲郋, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to LiberiaSierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
,
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, and
Timor-Leste, Timor-Leste (East Timor).
On 1 November 2007, UN
Secretary-General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
, in consultation with the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
John Holmes, appointed her as
Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator (DHC) for eastern
Chad
Chad (; ar, 堛奡塈堹 , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
. She was based in the town of
Ab矇ch矇
Ab矇ch矇 ( ar, 堧堥奡, ''Absha'') is the fourth largest city in Chad and is the capital of Ouadda簿 Region. It has within it the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tombs of former sultans.
History
The city of ...
, located approximately 80 kilometres west of the border with the
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, 塈堻堹塈, as-S贖dn, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, 堿堭堜 塈堻堹塈, link=no, Jumh贖riyyat as-S贖dn), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
's conflict-torn
Darfur
Darfur ( ; ar, 堹塈堭 堭, Dr F贖r, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dr'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f the region was named Dardaju ( ar, 堹塈堭 堹塈堿, Dr Dj贖, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...
region. Chad currently hosts over 280,000
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. s and over 170,000
internally displaced person
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
A ...
s (IDPs), most of whom are in the eastern region,
and she was tasked with working for their return.
The official's functions consist in providing support and guidance to a team composed of seven
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
agencies and over 40 international
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s (NGOs) working in eastern Chad.
[
]
FIFA
In June 2016 she assumed the role of FIFA Secretary General responsible for overseeing the commercial and operational side of the organization. She replaced Markus Kattner, who was implicated in corruption.
Within months of landing the job, a controversy erupted 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
over the rules forbidding the wearing of remembrance poppy
A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to gi ...
symbols by players. Samoura declared on 3 November 2016 that England, Scotland and Wales would be punished if they wore the poppy on Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
, as FIFA classes it as a political symbol. "Britain is not the only country that has been suffering as a result of war", she said. "Syria is an example. My own fricancontinent has been torn by war for years. The only question is 'why are we doing exceptions for just one country and not the rest of the world?'" UK Prime Minister Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; n矇e Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
condemned FIFA and told Parliament that Samoura's decision was "utterly outrageous".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samoura, Fatma
Senegalese officials of the United Nations
Women humanitarians
1962 births
Living people
Senegalese diplomats
FIFA officials
BBC 100 Women