Kenyan diplomat Martin Kimani has secured a senior United Nations position after being appointed Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO), placing his long experience in African peace and security at the centre of the UN’s work on the continent.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment on September 14, with Kimani taking over from Ghana’s Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee. The UN said Guterres thanked Pobee for her dedicated service during her tenure.
Kimani brings 25 years of experience in international relations, peace and security and multilateral diplomacy, with a career spanning government, regional organisations, the UN and the private sector.
His career has included work on conflict prevention in the Horn of Africa, counter-terrorism, diplomacy and international policy, as well as senior responsibilities at the UN.
Kimani served as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN from 2020 to 2024, during a period when Kenya was a non-permanent member of the Security Council.
While Kenya served on the Security Council, he became President of the Council in October 2021. He also chaired the Council’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa and co-chaired its Informal Expert Group on Climate and Security in 2022.
In 2023, he was appointed President of the executive boards of the UN Development Programme, UN Population Fund and UN Office for Project Services.
His work in African peace and security began well before his time at the UN. Between 2011 and 2012, Kimani headed the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism in Addis Ababa, where he focused on preventing and resolving cross-border conflicts in the Horn of Africa.
He had earlier served as a senior counter-terrorism adviser to an IGAD programme between 2006 and 2008.
Kimani later served as Director of Kenya’s National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and as the President’s Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism.
The NCTC coordinates Kenya’s national efforts to prevent, detect, deter and disrupt terrorism. Its work has also expanded to preventing and countering violent extremism through partnerships with government agencies, communities and international partners.
In 2016, while serving as NCTC director, Kimani was appointed Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism as Kenya launched its National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism.
His career has also included senior roles outside government. He served as Executive Director of New York University’s Center on International Cooperation before becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of The Africa Center in New York.
His professional experience also includes political-risk analysis as well as work in global currency and bond markets.
Kimani’s academic training has focused on war, conflict and international affairs. He holds a master’s degree and a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London, where his doctoral research examined hatred, mass violence and genocide.
He also holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of New Hampshire.
His service has earned him Kenya’s Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS) and Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) honours. In 2022, he also received the German Africa Foundation’s Honorary Award.
The new UN appointment gives Kimani a senior role in efforts to address political and security challenges across Africa, drawing on his experience in conflict prevention, diplomacy, peacebuilding and peace operations.
It also marks his return to a senior international position after his diplomatic and policy work in New York, where he was involved in issues including African conflict prevention, terrorism, climate and security.