Rwandas Foreign Minister has been unanimously elected the Secretary General of La Francophonie (OIF). The election took place Friday during the OIF summit in Yerevan the capital of Armenia. Her win follows months on the campaign trail that took her to different countries across the world. Mushikiwabo takes over from Michaëlle Jean who has held the position for the last four years. The organisation was created in 1970 to promote the French language, peace, and sustainable development in member states. Heads of State and Government of the organisation’s member countries voted Mushikiwabo on the last day of the summit. Mushikiwabo was the favorite garnering a lot of support, especially from the African Union member countries. Several dignitaries congratulated her on the win. Félicitations à @LMushikiwabo, nouvelle Secrétaire Générale de @OIFfrancophonie. Très heureux de poursuivre nos relations de travail et d’amitié à ce nouveau poste. Une grande fierté pour l’Afrique et pour le #Rwanda! @europeaid @LMFrancophonie #AUEU #SommetEVN18 pic.twitter.com/2H0qhwHtS3 — Neven Mimica (@MimicaEU) October 12, 2018 Au cours du #SommetEVN18, la nouvelle secrétaire générale de l’ @OIFfrancophonie Mme Louise Mushikiwabo été nommée. Première photo en compagnie de M. le ministre des affaires étrangères arménien. Cc @APFfrancophonie pic.twitter.com/U3s0Tlj4ik — Jacques Krabal (@JKrabal) October 12, 2018 She was unanimously endorsed by the African Union, during the last AU summit held in July in Mauritania. 1:2: Je suis ravi que la candidate africaine @LMushikiwabo soit élue par consensus et par acclamation. Cela démontre ses qualités, son expérience, et son leadership qui sont ainsi unanimement reconnus par la famille #francophone. Je la félicite. — Moussa Faki Mahamat (@AUC_MoussaFaki) October 12, 2018 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulates @LMushikiwabo on her nomination as Secretary General of the @OIFfrancophonie, and thanks @MichaelleJeanF for her remarkable work during her mandate. #SommetEVN18 — CanadianPM (@CanadianPM) October 12, 2018 The campaign took Mushikiwabo to; Madagascar, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, DRC, Senegal, Cameroon, Mauritania (during AU Summit), Guinea, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Romania, Armenia, Lebanon and Tunisia. Her campaign agenda, among other things, includes a promise to improve the relevance of the organisation to make it more visible and relevant on the global stage. Mushikiwabo pledged to play a role in addressing youth unemployment in the francophone countries, a challenge which has led to consequences such as mass migration, terrorism and radicalisation. Her agenda also includes increasing the exchange of good practices within the francophone members. French President Emmanuel Macron had earlier in May this year endorsed Mushikiwabo for the job, saying that she meets all qualities. Mushikiwabo will steer the 84-member organisation towards its objectives to promote the French language and cultural and linguistic diversity, promote peace, democracy and human rights and supporting education, training, higher education and scientific research. The organisation’s 84 member states and observers represent over one-third of UN Members States and account for a population of over 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
