Omar Alieu Touray (born 5 November 1965) is a
Gambian diplomat. He was the Gambia's Permanent Representative to 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 ...
from 2007 to 2008 and has been
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
since March 2008.
Touray received his B.A. (literature and linguistics) from
Ain Shams University
Ain Shams University ( ar, جامعة عين شمس) is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels.
History
Ain Shams University was fou ...
in 1987 and graduated with a Ph.D. in international relations at the
Graduate Institute of International Studies
Graduate may refer to:
Education
* The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree
** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution
* High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...
in Geneva in 1994.
He was liaison officer for the
World Indigenous Organization at the
United Nations Office at Geneva
The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, french: Office des Nations Unies à Genève) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG ...
from September 1993 to December 1994. He was then a consultant at the International Labour Office in Geneva until July 1995, at which point he briefly became Senior Assistant Secretary at the Gambian Ministry of External Affairs before becoming First Secretary of the Gambian Embassy to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, and Permanent Mission to the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
later in 1995. In mid-1996 he was moved to the post of Counsellor and Head of Chancery at the same embassy, and he remained in that post until April 2002.
From April 2002 to September 2007, Touray was the Gambian Ambassador to
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, with additional accreditation as Permanent Representative to the
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
, the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; french: link=no, Commission économique pour l'Afrique, CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its ...
, and the
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
, as well as
High Commissioner to
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 ...
and
Kenya
)
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. He was appointed as Gambia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in September 2007
[ before being appointed as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on March 19, 2008, replacing Crispin Grey-Johnson. Touray was sworn in as Secretary of State on March 26."President Jammeh presides over swearing of 3 new Secretaries of State, Secretary General, Secretary to Cabinet"]
, Office of the Gambian President website, March 26, 2008. After his sacking in September 2009, he was employed by the
Islamic Development Bank
The Islamic Development Bank ( ar, البنك الإسلامي للتنمية, abbreviated as IsDB) is a multilateral development finance institution that is focused on Islamic finance for infrastructure development and located in Jeddah, Saudi A ...
in Saudi Arabia and the Ivory Coast.
In October 2021, Omar Touray, was unanimously appointed as the new president of the ECOWAS Commission for the period 2022–2026.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Touray, Omar
1965 births
Living people
Ain Shams University alumni
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni
Permanent Representatives of the Gambia to the United Nations
Government ministers of the Gambia
Permanent Representatives of the Gambia to the African Union
Ambassadors of the Gambia to Belgium
Ambassadors of the Gambia to the Netherlands
Ambassadors of the Gambia to Germany
Ambassadors of the Gambia to Italy
Ambassadors of the Gambia to Luxembourg
Ambassadors of the Gambia to the Czech Republic
Ambassadors of the Gambia to Poland
Ambassadors of the Gambia to Slovakia
Ambassadors of the Gambia to the European Union
Ambassadors of the Gambia to Ethiopia
High Commissioners of the Gambia to South Africa
High Commissioners of the Gambia to Kenya