Parfait Ishungure was appointed as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Arts by President Paul Kagame on Wednesday, July 15.

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An expert in public policy analysis and international relations, Ishungure replaces Brave Olivier Ngabo, who moved to the Ministry of Sports to serve in a similar position. Ishungure joins the ministry led by Minister Jean Nepo Abdallah Utumatwishima and Minister of State Sandrine Umutoni.

Ishungure's professional background

Ishungure began his diplomatic career in September 2019 as a Senior Officer for Northern Africa Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Until his latest appointment, Ishungure served as acting Director for the Middle East and Pacific in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, a position he had held since November 2025.

Prior to that, he was the national correspondent to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), a position he held from May 2021.

He previously served as Senior Officer for United Nations and International Organizations Affairs.

Before joining the foreign ministry, Ishungure had worked for the Agence univeristaire de la Francophonie as project and communications manager for North Africa, based in Rabat, Morocco. He served in the position from 2017 to 2019.

Ishungure also worked as project manager and telecom engineer for the Morocco-based engineering and consultancy firm DSID Group. Prior to that, he had worked as an engineer for Huawei Technologies Morocco.

Ishungure’s education background

Ishungure holds two master's degrees: one in Political Science obtained from the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and another in International and European Human Rights Law from the University of Nantes in France.

He also holds a diploma in public administration from the France’s former Institut national de service publique. Ishungure also has a diploma in telecommunications engineering obtained from Morocco’s Institut national des postes et telecommunications. He did his secondary school studies at Petit Seminaire Saint Jean–Nkumba in Burera District.

Ishungure is a Google-certified data analyst. He speaks Kinyarwanda, French and English. He is also a pianist and organist, and a member of Chorale de Kigali for years