Biographical Note

NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF KENYA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS

(Based on information received from the Protocol and Liaison Service.)

The new Permanent Representative of Kenya, Bob Francis Jalang'o, presented his credentials to Secretary-General Kofi Annan today.

Prior to his appointment, from 1999, Mr. Jalang'o served as the Vice-Chairman of the African Group of Ambassadors to United Nations agencies in Rome.  That post also included duties as the Chairman of the African Group's Candidatures Committee, as well as the Group's Chairman for 2000.

In 1997, Mr. Jalang’o was appointed Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations agencies in Rome, as well as its Ambassador to Italy, Greece and Poland.  While in Rome, he was part of Kenya's delegation to two biennial conferences of the Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO).  He also worked with the World Food Programme (WFP) and served as a member of the Executive Board of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Mr. Jalang'o's diplomatic career began in 1993, when he was appointed Ambassador to Zambia, Malawi and Botswana.  That same year, he also served as one of the ambassadors to the Common Market for East and Central Africa (COMESA), headquartered in Lusaka.  Over the next two years in that capacity, he played an active role as the former Preferential Trade Area (PTA) was transformed into the COMESA common market.  In 1997, he was part of Kenya's delegation to the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Commonwealth of Nations.

From 1988 to 1992, Mr. Jalang'o served as a member of Kenya's Parliament. During that time, he served on a number of committees, including the Select Committee to investigate ethnic clashes in Kenya, as well as the Public Accounts Committee. 

From 1970 to 1988, Mr. Jalang'o was employed in various capacities by three international corporations.  From 1970 to 1974, he worked at Business Machines Limited, Kenya.  In 1971, he joined Caltex Services Mid-Africa.  During his five years there, he served as the Superintendent of Computer Systems Programming.  From 1978 to 1988, he worked at Caltex Oil, Limited.  While there, he served as the head of the Regional Information Technology Department. 

Mr. Jalang'o received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and Physics from Makerere University in Uganda in 1970.  That same year, he received a certificate in Computer Programming form the Olivetti Computer Centre in Florence.  He is a member of several professional groups, including the Kenya Institute of Management and Computer Security Institute of the United States.

Mr. Jalang’o was born 5 February 1945 and is married.

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