Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji (22 July 1934 – 27 November 2017 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

career diplomat and politician who was the Special Representative of the General Secretary with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) from November 19, 1999 to July 16, 2003. Later he was Foreign Minister of Nigeria from July 2003 to June 2006, then Internal Affairs Minister from 21 June 2006 to May 2007.

Diplomatic career

Adeniji had a degree in History. He joined the Nigerian Foreign Service in July 1960. He served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigerian embassies in

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Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

, Sierra Leone, and

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, Ghana. He retired from service in 1991 after serving as the Director-General of the ministry of foreign affairs. For five years he was the Nigerian Ambassador to France. Adeniji was the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative for the United Nations Mission in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

(MINURCA). The mission was responsible for providing security in

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

and for coordinating the legislative and presidential elections held in 1998 and 1999. He was then appointed the United Nations Secretary General's Special Representative for Sierra Leone and Head of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).

Later career

Adeniji was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in July 2003. Beginning in early March 2008, Adeniji headed negotiations in

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related to that country's

political crisis Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, following the departure of the previous head negotiator, Kofi Annan. In addition, he served on the Commission of Eminent Persons on The Role of the

IAEA 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 ...

to 2020 and Beyond, chaired by Ernesto Zedillo, whose report ''Reinforcing the Global Nuclear Order for Peace and Prosperity'' was launched in June 2008. Adeniji died on 27 November 2017 in London, aged 83.

References

* * * 1934 births 2017 deaths Foreign ministers of Nigeria Interior ministers of Nigeria People from Ijebu Ode Yoruba politicians Nigerian diplomats Ambassadors of Nigeria to France Nigerian expatriates in Sierra Leone Nigerian expatriates in the United States Nigerian expatriates in Ghana {{Nigeria-politician-stub