Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza (born 25 July 1963) is a Rwandan businesswoman and politician who has served as the country's

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to 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 ...

from 2016 to 2018. She now is the

Special Representative of the Secretary-General A Special Representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representati ...

and head of

MINUSCA United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (also called MINUSCA, which is an initialism of its French name Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations unies pour la stabilisation en Ce ...

, the United Nations peacekeeping 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 ...

Early life and education

Rugwabiza was born on 25 July 1963. She has a bachelor's and a master's degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

from the

National University of Zaire The National University of Zaire (french: Université nationale du Zaïre, or UNAZA) was a federated university in Zaire (the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo). It was formed in August 1971 when the country's three existing universiti ...

Career

For eight years, Rugwabiza worked for Swiss multinational company

Hoffmann-La Roche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX ...

, first as the head of commercial development and marketing for Central Africa in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

, and then as regional director in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre i ...

. She returned to

Kigali Kigali () is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwanda's economic, cult ...

in 1997 to run her own company, Synergy Group. In 2002, Rugwabiza was appointed Rwanda's

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and Permanent Representative to the UN Office in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

, serving for three years. From 2005 until 2013, Rugwabiza was Deputy Director-General of 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 ...

, the first woman to hold the position. She is a founding member of the Rwanda Private Sector Federation, the Rwanda Women Entrepreneurs’ Organization and the Rwandese Women Leaders’ Caucus. Rugwabiza was CEO of the Rwanda Development Board from 2013 to 2014. She served as Minister for

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Buru ...

from 2014 to 2016. In 2015, she was named as one of

Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It is also a book publisher, under ...

's "50 powerful women in Africa." Rugwabiza was appointed Rwanda's

Permanent Representative to the United Nations 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 Nat ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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 ...

in November 2016. She remains a member of the

Cabinet of Rwanda The Cabinet of Rwanda consists of the Prime Minister, Ministers, Ministers of State and other members nominated by the President. Members of Cabinet are selected from political organisations based on the number of seats they hold in the Chamber of D ...

and was a member of the

East African Legislative Assembly , native_name_lang = , transcription_name = , legislature = , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , foundation = 30 November 2001 , house_type = , body ...

for a five-year term from 2012 until June 2017. In February 2022, the UN announced that Valentine Rugwabiza would replace the Senegalese Mankeur Ndiaye at the head of Minusca, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the

Personal life

Rugwabiza is married to John Paulin Sendanyoye.

Publications

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugwabiza, Valentine 1963 births Living people Government ministers of Rwanda Permanent Representatives of Rwanda to the United Nations World Trade Organization people East African Community officials Members of the East African Legislative Assembly Women government ministers of Rwanda Rwandan businesspeople Rwandan women diplomats Rwandan women ambassadors Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

Publications

References