NEW YORK, United States- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Kenyan diplomat Martin Kimani as Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations.
The UN announced the appointment on Monday, September 14, placing Kimani in a senior role responsible for supporting the organisation’s political, peacebuilding and peacekeeping work across Africa.
Kimani succeeds Ghanaian diplomat Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, who has served as Assistant Secretary-General for Africa since 2021. Guterres thanked Pobee for her service to the United Nations.
The appointment marks Kimani’s return to the UN system after serving as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York between December 2020 and March 2024.
During that period, Kenya served as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2021 to 2022. Kimani represented the country in negotiations and debates on conflicts, counterterrorism, peacekeeping and international security.
He also served as President of the Security Council during Kenya’s rotating presidency in October 2021.
Kimani gained international attention in February 2022 after delivering Kenya’s statement at an emergency Security Council meeting shortly before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In the address, he compared the borders inherited by African countries after colonialism with the territorial dispute involving Russia and Ukraine. He argued that African states had chosen to pursue regional integration rather than wars aimed at recreating historical borders.
Before his assignment at the United Nations, Kimani served as Kenya’s Presidential Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism and as Director of the National Counter Terrorism Centre.
He has also worked on conflict prevention, national security and regional diplomacy. His previous assignments included serving as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Nairobi and other international organisations based in the capital.
Kimani was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of The Africa Center in New York in 2025. He had previously served as Executive Director of New York University’s Center on International Cooperation.
According to The Africa Center, his career has included senior roles in diplomacy, peace and security, counterterrorism and international cooperation.
Kimani holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from the University of New Hampshire. He also earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in war studies from King’s College London.
As Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, he will work under the UN’s political and peace operations departments, which monitor conflicts, support mediation and advise the Security Council on peace and security developments across the continent.
His appointment was announced in an official United Nations personnel notice.
