Kipruto Rono Arap Kirwa (born 1957) is a Kenyan politician.

Early life and education

Kirwa was born in Tanganyika, currently Republic of Tanzania. His father Kiprono Arap Sirng'ewo was a great farmer and livestock keeper, who was among the Nandi people evicted from their fertile ancestral lands by the British colonialists in

Nandi County Nandi County is a county in Kenya in the North Rift, occupying an area of 2,884.4 square kilometres. Its capital, Kapsabet, is the largest town in the county while other towns include Mosoriot, Tinderet, Kobujoi, Kaiboi, Kabiyet and Nandi ...

to pave the way for white settlers to develop the area that became the

white Highlands The White Highlands is an area in the central uplands of Kenya. It was traditionally the homeland of indigenous Central Kenyan communities up to the colonial period, when it became the centre of European settlement in Kenya, and between 1902 and 19 ...

in the

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear d ...

. The late colonial senior chief Elijah Cheruiyot oversaw the issuing of the temporary British permit that allowed the families to enter the northern Tanganyika, settling in Mara, Musoma, Bunda and Mwanza in 1951. His father begrudgingly settled there though he did not plan to live there for long. According to his parents, life had moved from bad to worse in their new unproductive foreign home. After Kenya attained it's independence, they moved back to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

around mid 1960s, settling in Cherangany, Trans Nzoia County. Kirwa started his elementary education and later secondary education in Kenya, and he excelled culminating in his admission to the

Egerton University Egerton University is a public university in Kenya. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Kenya. Location The main campus of the university is located in Njoro, a small community approximately , southwest of the town of Nakuru. T ...

where he acquired his tertiary education. He hold two master's degrees; Master of Science in Applied Management and Leadership from the The Management University of Africa, and Master of Arts in International Studies from the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

. He is also pursuing further studies at the

which will lead to PhD in International Studies.

Political career

He was elected to represent the Cherangany Constituency in the

national assembly of Kenya The National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya. Between 1966 and 2013, it served as a unicameral house. In 2013 ( 11th Parliament), it became the lower house when the Senate was reestablis ...

at the age of 33 during the 1990 by-election. He was re-elected consecutively during the 1992,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and 2002 Kenyan general elections. He served as a member of parliament at the

National Assembly of Kenya The National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya. Between 1966 and 2013, it served as a unicameral house. In 2013 ( 11th Parliament), it became the lower house when the Senate was reestablis ...

for approximately two decades. When the NARC led by President Mwai Kibaki swept into the power during the 2002 Kenyan general election, Kirwa was appointed to serve as the Minister for Agriculture. Later he was nominated to serve as

IGAD The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is an eight-country trade bloc in Africa. It includes governments from the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes. It is headquartered in Djibouti. Member states ;Horn of ...

Special Envoy to Somalia Peace and National Reconciliation from 2008 to 2012.

Personal life

Kirwa is married with four children.

References

Living people Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) Ministers of Agriculture of Kenya 1957 births {{Kenya-politician-stub