Addis Ababa, 1^st October 2016:  The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, today, appointed Ambassador Joram Mukama Biswaro, of the United Republic of Tanzania, as her new Special Representative for South Sudan and Head of the African Union Liaison Office in South Sudan (AULOSS), in replacement of Brigadier-General Sara Thomas Rwambali.

Ambassador Biswaro has held various senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tanzania, spanning four decades, 1973 to 2013. He served  as his country’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Permanent Representative to the African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. He played a crucial role in the transformation process from the OAU to the AU and, as Chair of the AU Peace and Security Council, visited several hotspots on the continent. He also participated in OAU/AU election observer missions to Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya. Ambassador Biswaro is also an accomplished scholar who has published extensively on issues of regional integration, multi-party democracy and conflict management. He has published seven books, co-authored several others and a number of articles.

The appointment of  Ambassador Biswaro comes at a critical time in the history of South Sudan and  as the AU reinforces  its engagement in the country. The Chairperson is confident that he  will leverage his extensive experience to enhance the pivotal role of the AULOSS in supporting the complex political and security processes in South Sudan, and  enhance the AU’s overall objective, in partnership with regional and international actors, in finding a sustainable solution to the challenges of peace, security and development in the country.

The Chairperson of the Commission would like  to express her sincere appreciation to Brigadier-General Sara Thomas Rwambali, the outgoing Head of the AULOSS, for her demonstrated leadership and commitment in advancing the objective of a stable, prosperous and democratic South Sudan. She promoted the values of the AU in the discharge of her duties, even under the most difficult circumstances.

Ambassador Biswaro is a board member of the Journal of African and International Law, founding member of the Association of Africa’s Regional Integration and Chair of Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance Centre.

Ambassador Biswaro was born in Musoma, Tanzania in 1952 and is married with six children.

COMMENTS