UN Chief Appoints New Executive Secretary to Economic Commission for Africa
Claver Gatete of Rwanda has been appointed as the next Executive Secretary of the Addis Ababa-headquartered UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
UN Chief António Guterres appointed Getete on Friday to take over the position left vacant for over a year after the former executive secretary Vera Songwe of Cameroon stepped down in August last year.
Her Deputy Antonio Pedro of Mozambique has been serving as acting executive secretary since Sept 1, 2022.
UN Chief António Guterres extended his appreciation and gratitude to both Songwe and Pedro who will continue to serve as Acting Executive Secretary until Gatete assumes his functions.
Gatete is currently an Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the UN in New York.
“A seasoned economist, he brings to the position extensive strategic leadership expertise, coupled with international experience in the political and financial landscape of the African continent,” Guterres’s office said.
Gatete has served in senior government positions, notably as Minister of Infrastructure (2018-2022) and Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (2013-2018).
He has also served as Governor (2011-2013) and Deputy Governor (2009-2011) of the National Bank of Rwanda, Rwanda’s Central Bank.
Gatete began his diplomatic career in 2005 and was based in London until 2009 as Rwanda’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Iceland.
Gatete holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of British Columbia in Canada. He is fluent in English with a working knowledge of French.
