Rosemary Museminali (born 1962) 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 politician and diplomat, currently working for the

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) (, ONUSIDA) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The mission of UNAIDS is to lead, strengthen and support an e ...

(UNAIDS), as its representative at 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 ...

and

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 ...

. Museminali is best known for her role as the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation from 2005 until 2009. She has also served as the country's Minister of State for International Cooperation and as ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Early life

Rosemary Museminali was born in 1962 in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in 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*) territor ...

, to

n born refugee parents, who had fled the country following the 1959

Rwandan Revolution The Rwandan Revolution, also known as the Hutu Revolution, Social Revolution, or Wind of Destruction ( rw, muyaga), was a period of ethnic violence in Rwanda from 1959 to 1961 between the Hutu and the Tutsi, two of the three ethnic groups in R ...

, which saw the creation of a republic dominated by the majority

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...

, and persecution of the minority

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...

. Museminali grew up and completed her education in Uganda, earning a degree in social work and administration from

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

in 1986. While still in Uganda, Museminali worked as an Administration Manager for

Nyanza Textile Industries Limited Nyanza Textile Industries Limited (Nytil), is an integrated textile manufacturing company in Uganda. Location The headquarters of the company and the company's factory are located in the town of Njeru, in Buikwe District, along the western bank o ...

. In the 1990s, a rebel army led by

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...

, also a refugee in Uganda, launching a four year

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

which culminated in the 1994

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

, in which between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu were killed by Hutu extremists. The war was ended when Kagame's forces took over the whole country, enabling thousands of Tutsi exiles, including Museminali, to return to their homeland.

Political and diplomatic career

After her arrival in Rwanda, Museminali began working in the Ministry of Social Welfare, assisting other refugees trying to return to the country and attempting to reunite families torn apart by the genocide. She remained with the ministry for five years, before moving to work as Secretary General of the

Rwandan Red Cross History and Organization The Rwandan Red Cross, also known as the, RRC, was established in July 1962 in Kigali, Rwanda. On October 8, 1982, Rwanda became the 130th member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). One year later, ...

, a role she held for only a brief period. In 2000, Museminali was appointed ambassador for Rwanda to the

, including additional roles as ambassador to the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and the

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n countries. She remained in this position, based 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 ...

, for five years. On her return to Rwanda in 2005, Museminali was appointed by President

to the role of junior minister at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

(MINAFFET), responsible for international cooperation. She was promoted in March 2008 to the position of foreign minister, in overall charge of the ministry. During her time as foreign minister, she prioritised the maintenance of peace and security Rwanda, as well as pushing to build peace internationally. As part of the latter aim, she oversaw Rwanda's involvement in the

United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (known by its acronym UNAMID) is a joint African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission formally approved by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 on 31 J ...

. She also worked internationally to develop Rwanda's economy. In December 2009, President Kagame sacked Museminali, replacing her with Minister of Information

Louise Mushikiwabo Louise Mushikiwabo (born 22 May 1961) is the fourth and current Secretary General of Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. She previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda from 2009 to 2018. She also se ...

in a reshuffle. Museminali was not offered another position in the government. Some time after leaving the government, Museminali moved to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

to work for the

(UNAIDS), as its representative to both the

and the

. She remains in this role as of 2016.

References

Cited works

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Museminali, Rosemary Living people Women government ministers of Rwanda Female foreign ministers Foreign ministers of Rwanda 1962 births Ambassadors of Rwanda to the United Kingdom Rwandan women ambassadors Rwandan Patriotic Front politicians Rwandan women diplomats 21st-century Rwandan women politicians 21st-century Rwandan politicians