Biographical Note

New Permanent Representative of United Republic of Tanzania Presents Credentials

(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service.)

The new Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations, Ombeni Yohana Sefue, presented his credentials today to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Sefue was his country’s Ambassador to the United States, a post he took up in June 2007.  A career diplomat, he was High Commissioner to Canada from October 2005 to June 2007.  He also served as Counsellor at the Tanzanian Embassy in Stockholm between 1987 and 1992.

Between 1993 and 2005, he worked as a speechwriter and personal assistant to two Tanzanian Presidents — Ali Hassan Mwinyi (1993-1995) and William Mkapa (1995-2005).  Mr. Sefue assisted when he served on the Commission for Africa, which produced the “Our Common Interest:  Report of the Commission for Africa” in March 2005, and participated with President Mkapa at the July 2005 Group of Eight Summit in Gleneagles, United Kingdom, which discussed the report. 

He also worked with President Mkapa when he served as Co-Chair of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization of the International Labour Organization (ILO) from 2002 to 2004, helping prepare the Commission’s February 2004 report entitled “A Fair Globalization:  Creating Opportunities for All”. 

Mr. Sefue received a Master of Arts in public policy and administration from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague.  He also obtained a post-graduate diploma in international relations and diplomacy from the Tanzania-Mozambique Centre for Foreign Relations in Dar es Salaam.  He completed his undergraduate studies in public administration at what is now Mzumbe University in Morogoro in the United Republic of Tanzania.

Born in 1954, he is married with two children.

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For information media • not an official record