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PROFILE OF HON. DR. MOHAMED IBN CHAMBAS
 Dr. MOHAMED IBN CHAMBAS was elected Executive Secretary of
ECOWAS at the 25th session of the Authority of
Heads of State and Government in Dakar on 21 December
2001. He assumed office at the ECOWAS Executive
Secretariat Abuja, Nigeria, on 1 February 2002
As Chief Executive Officer of the 15 member West African
regional organisation, Dr. Chambas has successfully
positioned ECOWAS as a model regional organisation in
Africa due to its accomplishments in the resolution of the
conflicts in Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and
Togo. He has increased the profile of the organisation
internationally and forged beneficial relations between it
and developments partners such as the United Nations, the
European Union, The World Bank, The International Monetary
Fund, the African Development Bank and numerous donor
countries. Also, the relationship between ECOWAS and the
African Union (AU) Commission has never been stronger.
Under his dynamic and visionary leadership, ECOWAS has
achieved synergy between its integration programmes and
the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD)
initiatives, again blazing the trail with regard to the
regional approach to the implementation of NEPAD.
Prior to his election, Dr. Chambas was a Member of
Parliament of Ghana.
In the Ghanaian Parliament he served at various periods as
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Chairman of the
Appointments Committee, Chairman of the Privileges
Committee, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and
Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Member of
the Select Committee on Education and the Committee on
subsidiary Legislation.
Dr. Chambas first entered Government in 1987 as Deputy
Foreign Minister of Ghana. As Deputy Foreign Minister, he
was a member of the Head of State’s summit delegations to
a number of countries such as the United States of
America, China, United Kingdom, France, Malaysia, Nigeria,
Zimbabwe, etc. He also led Ghana's delegation to several
countries and conferences including the United Nations
General Assembly, ministerial meetings of the Organisation
of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union (AU), the
Economic Community of West African Sates (ECOWAS), the
Movement of the Non-Aligned Countries (NAM), the
Commonwealth, etc.
Between 1991 and 1996, he was centrally involved in the
ECOWAS mediation efforts in Liberia and directly
participated in the negotiations leading to the agreements
ending the Liberian civil war.
In 1996, Dr. Chambas was a key member of the Government of
Ghana's campaign team for the election of His Excellency
Mr. Kofi Annan to his first term as Secretary–General of
the United Nations Organisation.
He was also a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial
Action Group (CMAG), which worked to facilitate a
transition to constitutional democratic governance in
Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Between April 1997 and December 2000, Dr. Chambas was the
Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary
Education. In that capacity he had direct
responsibility for the country's five universities, ten
polytechnics and agencies/institutions charged with the
formulation of policies on higher education, accreditation
and maintenance of standards in tertiary institutions.
Dr. Chambas, who was born on 7 December 1950, holds
degrees in Political Science from the University of Ghana,
Legon (B. A. 1973) and Cornell University, Ithaca New York
(M. A. 1977; PhD 1980) and a law degree from Case Western
Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio (J. D. 1984). He has
been admitted to practice law in Ghana and the State of
Ohio. His working experience in the United States includes
teaching at Oberlin College, and practicing law with The
Greater Cleveland Legal Aid Society and the Cleveland,
Ohio, Law Office of Forbes, Forbes and Teamor.
Dr. Chambas served a four-year term (1997-2001) on the
Cornell University Council, the first African to serve on
the Council of the prestigious Ivy-league American
University. He was re-elected for another four year term
from 2003-2007. |
