Following the recommendation of the Secretary-General, after consultation with Member States, the General Assembly confirmed Mukhisa Kituyi of Kenya as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for a further four years, beginning on 1 September 2017 and ending on 31 August 2021. Mr. Kituyi served for an initial four year term as UNCTAD’s seventh Secretary-General.
 Mr. Mukhisa Kituyi |
Mr. Kituyi has an extensive background as an elected official, an academic, coupled with wide-ranging experience in trade negotiations, and in African and broader international economics and diplomacy. Before joining UNCTAD, Mr. Kituyi was Chief Executive of the Kenya Institute of Governance and Fellow of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., on their African Growth Initiative. Mr. Kituyi was a member of a team of experts advising the East African Community Presidents on the challenges, opportunities and possible road map to deeper regional integration 2008-2012) and a consultant to the Africa Union Commission, where he helped develop the architecture and road map for a Pan-African Free Trade Area (2008-2012). Mr. Kituyi was an elected member of Kenya's Parliament for fifteen years, serving as Minister for Trade and Industry (2002-2007).
