Guillaume Kavaruganda

Guillaume Kavaruganda (born 13 February 1969) is a Rwandan career diplomat who has spent the majority of his career serving in a number of diplomatic capacities. On May 11th 2020, he was appointed Ambassador to the Ministry entrusted with the duties of Director General for Europe, Americas, and International Organizations, within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation(minaffet).[1][2]

Guillaume Kavaruganda
Born13 February 1969
Rwanda
NationalityRwandan
EducationUniversity of Louvain la Neuve
Alma materUniversity of Perugia
OccupationCareer Diplomat
Years active1998-upto date
TitleAmbassador
Spouse(s)Ntezirizaza Alda
Parents
  • Joseph Kavaruganda (father)
  • Mukarubibi Annonciatta (mother)

Kavaruganda was stationed at the Rwandan embassies in The US, the Swiss Confederation, and in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He is the former High Commissioner of Republic of Rwanda to the Republic of Singapore, where he played a critical role in advancing investment cooperation & bilateral trade relationship between Rwanda and Singapore.[3]

During his time in the Southeast Asia-Pacific region, he was also concurrently Rwandan's High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of Australia, to New Zealand and ambassador to Republic of Indonesia from 2015 to 2019.[4][5]

Early life, family background and education

Kavaruganda was born in Nyarugenge-Kigali, born from Mrs. Annonciata Mukarubibi and Dr.Joseph Kavaruganda the former prosecutor General of Republic of Rwanda for 6 years and a Chief Justice of Rwanda for 15 years.[6][7][8]

He went to College Saint Andre for secondary school education in Rwanda, and later went to Italy where he pursued his Undergraduate education in Law at the University of Perugia. In 1997, he enrolled at the University of Louvain la Neuve, in Belgium where he attained a Master's degree in International Law and European Union Law.[9]

Early diplomatic career

He began his diplomatic career in March 1998, upon being assigned to work as a diplomatic officer within the directorate of political affairs, in the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kavaruganda's initial posting to a mission abroad was as First Secretary in charge of Consular Affairs at the Rwandan Embassy in Washington, where he served from April 1999 until July 2002.[10] He implemented several measures that made consular services more customer-oriented.[11]

In July 2002, Kavaruganda was promoted to the position of Second Counsellor and deputy chief of mission at the Rwanda Mission in Geneva which serves, on one hand, as the Rwandan Embassy to the Swiss Confederation, to Austria and to the Holy See. On the other hand, as the Permanent Representation of Rwanda to the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG, OHCHR, UNDRR, UNCTAD) and to other International Organizations in Geneva (WIPO, UNIDO, ITU, ILO, UNHRC, UNHCR, ICRC, IOM, OCHA, WHO, UNAIDS) as well as to the International Organizations in Vienna (UNOV, UNODC, IAEA, UNIDO, CTBTO, UNCITRAL, UN-OOSA).[12][13]

Senior diplomatic duties

Upon completion of his term in Geneva, he was appointed Director of Protocol within the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation on January 28, 2006. In this capacity, he advised the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the fulfillment of the Rwandan Government's obligation relating to national and international protocol in Rwanda. He also served as the link between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign diplomats stationed in Rwanda and visiting dignitaries, a post he held from January 28th, 2006, to September 15th, 2009.From 2009 to 2010, He was asked to serve as an expert in charge of Northern Europe and UK within the Directorate General of Bilateral and Multilateral Affairs.

On Friday 28th May 2010,Kavaruganda was appointed as the first counsellor and just over a week later, he was promoted to become Minister Counsellor in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Rwandan diplomatic mission in The Hague serves, on the one hand, as the Rwandan Embassy to the Netherlands and is also accredited to Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia. As Deputy Head of Mission, he served as a key advisor to the chief of mission and played a wider corporate role in the running of the Embassy.

Alongside his various assignments in The Hague, Kavaruganda served as the Deputy Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and to the International Court of Justice. Additional relevant duties included Kavaruganda being responsible for Rwanda’s relations with the International Development Law Organization.  He stayed in The Hague from May 2010 to March 2015.[14]

Ambassadorial appointments

In April 2015, Kavaruganda was appointed by the cabinet as a High Commissioner to Singapore. The High Commission in Singapore also served concurrently as the non-resident Mission to Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.[15][16] [17][18]

In September 2019, Kavaruganda left his position as the head of Rwandan diplomatic mission based in Singapore and remained at the disposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation until his appointment as Ambassador to the Ministry entrusted with the duties of Director General for Europe, Americas, and International Organizations on 11 May 2020.[19]

He is the head of one of the bilateral and multilateral Directorate General of the Rwandan Foreign Ministry, where he oversees the Northern and Western Europe Unit, the Unit for Eastern and Southern Europe, together with the Division for Americas, UN and International Development Organizations.

Personal life

Kavaruganda is married to Mrs. Ntezirizaza Alda.[20]

References
  1. "MINAFFET: Europe, America & IOs". www.minaffet.gov.rw. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  2. "UN Rwanda: Frw19.6 Billion and counting as the fight against COVID-19 continues". WHO | Regional Office for Africa. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  3. "HE Guillaume Kavaruganda: A Privilege & Pleasure to Serve". Indiplomacy. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  4. "Amb. Kavaruganda presents credentials in Australia". The New Times | Rwanda. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  5. "Rwandan envoy presents credentials in Singapore". The New Times | Rwanda. 2015-07-30. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  6. "Dore abana bavuka ku byamamare byazize Jenoside babakurikije". Kigali Today. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  7. "1994: Joseph Kavaruganda yari azi ko ingabo za Loni zitazatabara abanyarwanda - Bwiza.com". bwiza.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  8. "Tribute to Kavaruganda, the valiant constitution defender". The New Times | Rwanda. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  9. "Tribute to my father". Diplomat magazine. 2014-11-02. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  10. "MFA Press Statement Presentation of Credentials Ceremony 30 July 2015". www.mfa.gov.sg. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  11. https://www.apminebanconvention.org/fileadmin/APMBC/IWP/SC_june04/SC_June04_Participantslist.pdf
  12. "Rwanda moves to bolster diplomatic service in new appointments". The New Times. 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  13. Trade and Development Board – Twenty-ninth executive session Geneva, 13 September 2002 (13 September 2002). [chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=https%3A%2F%2Functad.org%2Fes%2Fsystem%2Ffiles%2Fofficial-document%2Ftbex29inf1_enfrsp.pdf&clen=37109&chunk=true "United Nations Conference on Trade and Development"]: 8. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Check |url= value (help)
  14. "Rwanda tourism showcased in the Netherlands". The New Times | Rwanda. 2015-01-19. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  15. "Amb. Kavaruganda presents credentials in Australia". The New Times | Rwanda. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  16. "Amb Kavaruganda presents credentials to Singapore president". The New Times | Rwanda. 2015-07-30. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  17. "MFA Press Statement Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong meets the President of the Republic of Rwanda His". www.mfa.gov.sg. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  18. "Newsline: Rwanda Opens Embassies in Israel, Egypt". Diplomatic Briefing. 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  19. "Kagame Appoints Chief of State Protocol, Permanent Secretaries and More". KT PRESS. 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  20. "MFA Press Statement Presentation of Credentials Ceremony 30 July 2015". www.mfa.gov.sg. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
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