Profiles of AU Special Envoys, High Representatives, Special Representatives, and the Panel of the Wise
SPECIAL ENVOYS
FULL NAMES: H.E. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki
NATIONALITY: South African
PORTFOLIO: Chairperson of the AU High-Level Implementation Panel for Sudan and South Sudan (AUHIP). Appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission in July 2008
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: H.E. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a former President of the Republic of South Africa (1999 – 2008). He is a passionate Pan-Africanist who has negotiated and resolved various complex conflicts and crises on the African continent. He has also played an influential in mediating several conflicts in Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, and Liberia.
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FULL NAMES: H.E. Bineta Diop
NATIONALITY: Senegalese
PORTFOLIO: Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security. Appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission in January 2014.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: H.E. Bineta Diop is the Founder and President of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), an international NGO that seeks to foster, strengthen, and promote the leadership role of women in conflict prevention, management, and resolution in Africa. She played an instrumental role in achieving gender parity within the African Union Commission’s leadership and in the adoption of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa as well as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. She has led peacebuilding programs as well as many women’s peace and security initiatives.
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FULL NAMES: H.E. Joaquim Alberto Chissano
NATIONALITY: Mozambican
PORTFOLIO: Special Envoy for Western Sahara.Appointed by the Peace and Security Council in June 2014.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: H.E. Joaquim Alberto Chissano is a former President of the Republic of Mozambique (1986 – 2005), former Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) (2000 – 2001) and former Chairperson of the African Union (2003 - 2004). He is currently the chairperson of the Africa Forum of Former African Heads of State and Government and the Joaquim Chissano Foundation, which promotes peace, social-economic development, and culture. He is a former SADC Mediator for Madagascar and a former United Nations envoy for Northern Uganda, Southern Sudan, and Guinea Bissau.
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