Kenyan diplomat Ambassador Martin Kimani lands top UN Africa post
Kimani succeeds Ghana’s Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and takes charge of a portfolio that places him at the centre of the UN’s preventive diplomacy, mediation, conflict prevention and peacebuilding operations on the continent.
Kenya has secured another powerful diplomatic foothold at the United Nations after Ambassador Martin Kimani was appointed Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the UN departments responsible for political affairs, peacebuilding and peace operations.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced Kimani’s appointment, handing the veteran Kenyan diplomat a senior role at the heart of the UN’s efforts to prevent conflicts, broker peace and respond to political crises across Africa.
Kimani succeeds Ghana’s Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and takes charge of a portfolio that places him at the centre of the UN’s preventive diplomacy, mediation, conflict prevention and peacebuilding operations on the continent.
The appointment marks another major elevation for Kenya in the international system and comes after years of increasingly prominent Kenyan engagement in multilateral diplomacy, peace and security.
Kimani brings more than 25 years of experience spanning international relations, peace and security, government, regional organisations, academia, civil society and the private sector.
He served as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York from 2020 to 2024, a period that saw Kenya take a prominent role in the Security Council and African peace and security debates.
During Kenya’s two-year tenure as an elected member of the UN Security Council from 2021 to 2022, Kimani served as President of the Council in October 2021.
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, further cementing his credentials within the UN system.
His government experience stretches beyond diplomacy. Between 2015 and 2020, he served as Director of Kenya’s National Counter Terrorism Centre and as the President’s Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism.
Earlier, he was Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN Environment Programme and UN-Habitat from 2012 to 2015 and headed the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism between 2011 and 2012.
Kimani has also held senior positions outside government, including President and Chief Executive Officer of The Africa Center, Executive Director of New York University’s Center on International Cooperation and Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.
His academic credentials include a PhD and master’s degree in War Studies from King’s College London and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of New Hampshire in the United States.
The new assignment gives Kenya a senior voice in shaping the UN’s response to some of Africa’s most pressing political and security crises.
The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs is responsible for preventive diplomacy, mediation, political analysis, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, while the Department of Peace Operations oversees UN peacekeeping efforts.
