Richard Sezibera

Richard Sezibera
4th Secretary General of the East African Community
In office 19 April 2011 – 26 April 2016
Preceded by	Juma Mwapachu
Succeeded by	Libérat Mfumukeko
Minister of Health
In office 27 October 2008 – 19 April 2011
President	Paul Kagame
Personal details
Born	5 June 1964 Kigali, Rwanda
Nationality	Rwandan
Spouse(s)	Eustochie
Children	5
Residence	Kigali, Rwanda
Alma mater	MUSM (MBChB) Georgetown University (MA)
Profession	Medical doctor

Richard Sezibera (born June 5, 1964 in Kigali, Rwanda) is a Rwandan physician, politician, diplomat and civil servant. He was the 4th Secretary General of the East African Community. He was appointed to that position by the East African Community Heads of State on 19 April 2011 for a five-year term.^[1] His term ended on 26 April 2016, when Libérat Mfumukeko of Burundi, became the 5th Secretary General of the East African Community.^[2]

Early life and education

Sezibera was born on 5 June 1964, in Kigali, Rwanda.

Sezibera received his early education in Burundi. In 1984, he entered Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, Uganda, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) in 1989. Later, he obtained the degree of Master of Arts (MA) in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University in the United States.^[3]

Work experience

Following his graduation at Makerere University, he worked at Mbuya Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, before transferring to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in Mbale, Eastern Uganda.

In 1990, he joined the Rwanda Patriotic Front / Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPF/RPA) as a field medical officer. He rose to the rank of Major within the RPA in 1993.

In July 1994, Dr. Sezibera was appointed Physician to the President of the Republic of Rwanda. In this position, he concurrently served as military aide to the President of Rwanda.

In 1995, he became a Member of Parliament. He was elected President of the Parliamentary Commission on Social Affairs, which exercised oversight over the government departments mandated to deal with issues of health.

In 1999, he was appointed Ambassador of Rwanda to the United States of America, with concurrent accreditation to Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.^[4]

In 2003: President's office: Presidential Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region and senior advisor to the President of Rwanda. Was also the chairperson of the Rwanda national coordination mechanism. Contributed to the 1st ever pact on security, stability, and development in the Great Lakes region.

Was also the chairperson of the Rwanda committee in regional integration, a high level committee that inter Alia, led Rwanda technical negotiations for accession to the East Africa Community.

In 2008, Dr. Sezibera was appointed Minister of Health in the Rwandan cabinet, a position he held until 2011:

In 2011: he was appointed East African Community Secretary General, by the Head of States summit held in Dar Es Salaam on April 19, 2011. During his tenure, among the many things he did as EAC SG, he was the chairperson of the COMESA - SADC - EAC tripartite task force where he spearheaded the negotiations of the tripartite free trade area agreement (TFTA). The TFTA was signed by the HOS and HOG in 2015.

On a professional level, Amb Sezibera is a member of the Rwanda Medical Association

Amb Sezibera is a fellow, Institute for advanced studies in the humanities, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Amb served as Vice President of the World Health General Assembly and chairperson of the world health Organisation regional committee on Africa.

He served as a commissioner on the UN Secretary General's Commission on accountability for women and children's health.

He is a member of GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccine) board first as minister of health in Rwanda, 2nd and 3rd time as an individual. He serves as the chairperson of the board's programme and policy committee.

He has many publications in journals, numerous articles and has done many interviews in major national, regional and international media including the Washington post, foreight affairs, the lancet, CNN, BBC etc ...

Key note speaker in many national, regional and international fora.

Courses

Naval Justice School, naval college, Rhode Island, USA: civil military strategy for sustainable development

Attended the Special operations school, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA

Defense resource Management Institute (Senior Defense Management Course), Naval postgraduate school, Monterey, California, USA.

Personal life

Sezibera is married to Eustochie Agasaro Sezibera. Together, they are the parents of five children.

See also

• East African Community

References

1. Profile of the EAC Secretary General
2. Acemah, Harold (24 April 2016). "Dr Sezibera leaves East African Community in better condition". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
3. The Education History of Dr. Richard Sezibera
4. Work History of Dr. Richard Sezibera

External links

• Ambassador Richard Sezibera Sworn In As EAC Secretary-General