Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko (1 November 1956) is a South African

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. She is currently the

United Nations Ambassador A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Nati ...

for South Africa. For the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...

, Mxakato-Diseko was the leader of the G77 bloc during negotiations.

Early life and education

Mxakato-Diseko was born in Johannesburg on 1 November 1956. She attended

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

and has a doctorate in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

which she earned in 1991.

Career

Mxakato-Diseko worked as a campaigner for the African National Congress (ANC) and also as an activist in Soweto for the ANC. She also raised money for the British Defence and Aid Fund. Mxakato-Diseko began as a representative of South Africa at the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

in the mid-1990s. She has been the South African negotiator since 2011. In 2024, Mxakato-Diseko was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...

to co-chair the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, alongside Ditte Juul Jørgensen.

References

1956 births Politicians from Johannesburg South African women ambassadors Permanent Representatives of South Africa to the United Nations Living people Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford {{Authority control