Kenyan Diplomat Named UN Assistant Secretary-General

Kenyan diplomat Ambassador Martin Kimani has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General for Africa at the United Nations.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced Kimani’s appointment to the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO).

The Kenyan diplomat succeeds Ghana's Akyaa Pobee. 

As Assistant Secretary General, Kimani leads the UN's efforts in conflict prevention, mediation, preventive diplomacy, and peacebuilding across the African continent and other regions affected by instability..

Kimani has previously served as Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations in New York (2020-2024). He also served as a member of the UN Security Council from 2021 to 2022, when Kenya had non-permanent membership. 

He also chaired the Council’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa and co-chaired the Informal Expert Group on Climate and Security in 2022.

In 2023, Kimani served as President of the Executive Board of the UN Development Programme, UN Population Fund and UN Office for Project Services.

His previous government roles include Director of Kenya’s National Counter Terrorism Centre and the President’s Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism from 2015 to 2020.

He has also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Africa Center, Executive Director of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, and Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.