Monique Nsanzabaganwa 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 economist, politician and diplomat, who has served as the vice-chairperson of the

African Union Commission The Commission of the African Union acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union (and is somewhat analogous to the European Commission). It consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of ...

, effective 6 February 2021. Before that, between 2011 and 2021, she served as the deputy governor of the

National Bank of Rwanda The National Bank of Rwanda ( rw, Banki Nkuru Y'u Rwanda, french: Banque Nationale du Rwanda) is the central bank of Rwanda. The bank was founded in 1964. The current governor of the bank is John Rwangombwa. Location It is quartered at the N ...

Background and education

She was born in

circa 1971, and attended Rwandan schools prior to her University education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, from 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 ...

. She studied at

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

, in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, graduating with a Master of Arts in economics, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy, also in economics.

Career

Following her graduate studies abroad, she returned to Rwanda and worked as a lecturer in economics at the

, from 1999 until 2003. Between 2003 and 2008, she served as the Minister of State responsible for Economic Planning in the

Rwanda Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN, rw, Minisiteri y'Imari n'Igenamigambi, french: Ministère des Finances et de la Planification économique) is a government ministry of the Republic of Rwanda; the current Minister of Fin ...

. From 2008 until 2011 she was the Minister of Trade and Industry in the Rwandan cabinet. As state minister for economic planning, Nsanzabaganwa is credited with creating a stronger statistical and planning system nationally and at local levels. She was a leader of the drive to establish the

National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda The National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR; french: Institut National de la Statistique du Rwanda) is a government-owned agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, archiving and disseminating national statistical data, with the object ...

. She is also credited with leading the efforts to set up the legal framework and policy guidelines for microfinance in Rwanda.

Other considerations

She is a member of the African Leaders Network, a Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN), a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI)

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and a Fellow of the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

's Executive Education in Public Financial Management. She has served as the chairperson of the board of directors of the

, since 2012.

Personal life

Nsanzabaganwa is a married mother of three children; two sons and one daughter.

References

External links