Killion Munzele Munyama (born 10 July 1961) is a Polish economist, academic lecturer and politician of the

Civic Platform Civic Platform ( pl, Platforma Obywatelska, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk. It w ...

(PO) who served as a member of the Polish Parliament from 2011 until 2021.

Early life and education

Munyama was born in

Monze Monze is a small town (population 30,000) in the Southern Province of Zambia and is about 180 km south-west of Lusaka. It is the administrative centre of Monze District.Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. Later his family moved to

Mumbwa Mumbwa is a town in the Central Province of Zambia, lying on the M9 Road. Its district covers the western part of the Central Province bordering Kaoma and Western Province to the west, Namwala and Southern Province to the south, Lusaka and Lus ...

and then to

Mkushi Mkushi is a town in the Central Province of Zambia, located on the Great North Road and the Tazara railway, northeast of Kapiri Mposhi. The Changwena Falls and Fort Elwes (built-in 1896 by European gold prospectors) lie nearby. Mkushi is we ...

where Munyama grew up on a farm. He came to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

on a scholarship in 1981 to study

International Finance International finance (also referred to as international monetary economics or international macroeconomics) is the branch of financial economics broadly concerned with monetary and macroeconomic interrelations between two or more countries. Inter ...

. Munyama has stated that initially he planned on returning to Zambia after graduation, as he saw no opportunities for academics in communist Poland. However, after the

fall of Communism in Poland Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( South ...

he changed his mind as he saw an opportunity for improvement and a "chance to rid (the country) of the grey reality of communism".

Career in academia

Munyama graduated from the

Poznań University of Economics Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

in 1987. After graduation he worked for the Zambian government and then returned to Poland in 1994. He obtained his PhD from the Poznań University of Economics in 1994, with a dissertation "IMF Conditionality and the Problem of Structural Adjustment in the Zambian Economy". In 2012 he

habilitated Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

, based on his work "Economic Growth and Financial Development in Sub-Saharan African Countries: The Case of IMF Programmes in Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia" (''Wzrost gospodarczy a rozwój finansowy w Afryce Subsaharyjskiej na przykładzie programów MFW w Kenii, Mozambiku, Ugandzie i Zambii''). Munyama's fields of specialisation are banking and international finance. He has been working at the Poznań University of Economics since obtaining his doctorate and has also taught at the Bydgoszcz Higher School of Economics.

Political career

In the 2002 elections Munyama was elected as a delegate to the local council of

Grodzisk Wielkopolski County __NOTOC__ Grodzisk Wielkopolski County ( pl, powiat grodziski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Pol ...

. In 2006 he joined the

centre-right party and was elected to the Greater Poland Regional Assembly. In the

2011 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2011. * Local electoral calendar 2011 * National electoral calendar 2011 * 2011 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2011 Beninese presidential election * 2011 Beninese parliamentary el ...

Munyama was elected to the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

. In addition to his role in parliament, Munyama has been serving as member of the Italian delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

(PACE) since 2015. As part of the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...

group, he is member of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons (since 2015) and the Sub-Committee on Diasporas and Integration (since 2020). In this capacity, he is the coordinator of PACE’s Parliamentary Network on Diaspora Policies and served as the Assembly's

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Euro ...

on the humanitarian needs and rights of

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 in Europe in 2018. From 2015 until 2017, he also served on the Sub-Committee on Integration. He resigned from the

on the 10th of June 2021 after he agreed to work for the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is also ...

Political positions

Munyama describes his views as

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and pro-market. As a Sejm deputy he has worked on issues of government finance and foreign policy. In 2018, Munyama joined other black elected representatives and community leaders from across Europe in signing an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

supporting Italian politician

Cécile Kyenge Cécile Kashetu Kyenge (; born Kashetu Kyenge, 28 August 1964) is an Italian politician and ophthalmologist. She was the Minister for Integration in the 2013–14 Letta Cabinet. From 2014 until 2019, she was a Member of the European Parliament (M ...

who had been sued for

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

for calling the Italian

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

party racist.We stand with Cécile Kashetu Kyenge
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', October 12, 2018).

Personal life

Munyama is married to Elżbieta, a native of Grodzisk county. They have three children and reside in Karczewo. Munyama is a supporter of the

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation' ...

and the local

Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski (), previously Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski, was a Polish football club based in Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Greater Poland Voivodeship. History Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski was founded on 30 April 1922. Its lo ...

football clubs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munyama, Killion 1961 births Polish economists People from Monze District People from Mumbwa District People from Mkushi District People from Grodzisk Wielkopolski County Naturalized citizens of Poland Zambian emigrants to Poland Politicians of African descent 21st-century Polish politicians Living people Members of the Polish Sejm 2011–2015 Members of the Polish Sejm 2015–2019 Members of the Polish Sejm 2019–2023 Poznań University of Economics and Business alumni Academic staff of the Poznań University of Economics and Business