Maman Sambo Sidikou (born 1949) is a diplomat and a former

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesAfrican 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 ...

for

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

and the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid cli ...

. From 2011 to 2014, he served as Niger's ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, he oversaw U.N. peacekeeping efforts in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

from 2015 to 2018, and from 2018 to 2021 he served as executive secretary of the G5 Sahel.

Career

Sidikou was initially trained as a journalist, then entered government service in 1976. He has primarily been involved in Niger's diplomatic efforts, although he has also served on the staffs of the president and prime minister, and in the country's Ministry of Information. Under President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, he was appointed minister of foreign affairs and African integration from 1997 to 1999. He also served as presidential chief of staff until the election of President

Mamadou Tandja Mamadou Tandja (1938 – 24 November 2020) was a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNS ...

. Then, during Tandja's time in office, Sidikou left government and worked for a variety of intergovernmental and nonprofit organizations, including the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

, and

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

. From 2011 to 2014, he served as Niger's ambassador to the United States. He subsequently represented 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 ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

between 2014 and 2015. Then, from 2015 to 2018, he served as the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

secretary-general's special representative for the

and head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission there,

MONUSCO The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...

. Sidikou was appointed executive secretary of the G5 Sahel by the organization's heads of state at their summit in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital dis ...

, Niger, on 6 February 2018. In 2021, he left this post and was appointed the high representative of the

for

and the

. He holds a PhD in education from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Personal life

Sidikou is married to fellow diplomat Fatima Djibo Sidikou. They have two children.

References

Living people Foreign ministers of Niger 1949 births Ambassadors of Niger to the United States {{Niger-politician-stub