GENEVA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Mukhisa Kituyi of Kenya has been confirmed as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for a further four years beginning Sept. 1.
The 61-year-old Kituyi served for an initial four-year term as UNCTAD's seventh Secretary-General, the conference wrote in a statement on Friday.
He 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, Kituyi was chief executive of the Kenya Institute of Governance and a fellow of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., on their African Growth Initiative.
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 from 2008 to 2012.
He was also 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).
Kituyi served for 15 years as Kenya's minister for trade and industry and from 2002 to 2007 he was a member of Kenyan parliament.
The UNCTAD secretary-general obtained a Bachelor of Arts in political science and international relations from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, graduating with honours.
He also has a PhD in social anthropology, a Master of Philosophy in development studies and a Diploma in Science, Comparative Production Systems, all from the University of Bergen in Norway.
