Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari

Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari is a renowned scholar-diplomat who has played a
significant role in the area of diplomacy and conflict resolution. He was the former Chief of
Staff to President Buhari (2020-2023) and Minister of External Affairs of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria (1984-1985).
Professor Gambari received his BSc degree from the London School of Economics in 1968,
and his MA and PhD in Political Science in 1970 and 1974, respectively, from Columbia
University in the USA. He was the first Chancellor of Kwara State University (KWASU),
Nigeria, between 2013 and 2020; and was the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of
the Governing Council of Bayero University, Kano. He is currently the Chancellor of Crescent
University, Abeokuta, and Philomath University, Abuja, and Pro-Chancellor, Phoenix
University, Agwada, Nasarawa State.
Professor Gambari was the first African to be conferred with the title of Honorary Professor by
Chugsan University, China, in 1985. He was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters degree
(honoris causa) by the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut, USA) in 2002, as well as an
honorary degree awarded by Farleigh Dickinson University (New Jersey, USA) in 2006; an
Honorary Doctor of Public Service, Chatham University, in May 2008; and Honorary Doctor
of Letters (DLitt), University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in November 2011. Johns Hopkins University
elected Professor Gambari to the membership of the University’s Society of Scholars in 2002.
This society honours individuals who have achieved marked professional or scholarly
distinctions in their fields. In 2003, the Government of Nigeria awarded Professor Gambari the
national honour, Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR). Other awards include the Special
Recognition for International Development and Diplomacy Award conferred by the Africa
America Institute (September 2007), the Distinguished (Foreign) Service Award by the Federal
Government of Nigeria (April 2008), the International House Harry Edmonds Award for
Lifetime Achievement, New York (May 2009), and the Campaign Against Genocide Medal in
2010 by the Republic of Rwanda. In 2012, the South African Government also awarded Professor Ibrahim Gambari the Order of the Companions of Order of the Companions of OR
Tambo (OCORT), for his solidarity and friendship shown to the South African people.
Professor Gambari has also authored several books and scholarly articles on International
relations and foreign policy, including the books, Theory and Reality in Foreign Policy Making:
Nigeria after the Second Republic (Humanities Press International, 1989, 1990); Political and
Comparative Dimensions of Regional Integration: The Case of ECOWAS (Humanities Press
International, 1991); Africa and the New World Order (Oxford University Africa Society,
1992); Nigeria at the United Nations Security Council 1994-1995 (Sungai Books, 1998); Africa
at the United Nations in a Changing World Order; Selected Speeches (2007); and The New
Partnership for African Development: Challenges and Progress in Organizing International
Support (Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, 2004).
Moving Internationally, Professor Gambari became Nigeria’s longest-serving Ambassador to
the UN, New York, from January 1990 to October 1999. He chaired the UN Special Committee
Against Apartheid between 1990 and 1994, during which time he was able to build trust and
confidence with governments and policymakers in member countries of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) by working closely with African governments to coordinate
UN policy to eradicate apartheid. During the tenure of Kofi Annan as UNSG, Professor
Gambari was appointed as the first United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special
Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa (1999-2005). In that capacity, he worked closely
with heads of governments, key policymakers as well as institutions on the continent to develop
the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). At this time, he also served as the
Resident Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations
Mission to Angola between 2002 and 2003. He helped to bring the peace process under the
Lusaka Protocol to a successful conclusion.
In 2007, Professor Gambari was appointed by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, as Under
Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Iraq Compact. Between 2010 and 2012, he served
as the Joint Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Chairperson of the African
Union Commission UN-AU Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). At the time, UNAMID was
the world’s largest international peacekeeping mission. Professor Gambari also served as
Chairperson of the UN Special Committee on Peace-Keeping Operations from 1990-1999.
Professor Gambari is also the co-chair of the Commission on Global Security, Justice and
Governance, which was created to focus on understanding and addressing common global
threats that require collaborative action at all levels of governance. He also founded the
Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), a non-
governmental think-tank on research and policy studies on conflict prevention and resolution
as well as democratization and development in Africa.
All this shows that Professor Gambari has made an exceptional contribution in his long and
illustrious public life, both nationally in Nigeria and globally, in many important portfolios. He
has consistently demonstrated commitment to improving the human condition and to resolving
conflicts and building sustainable peace in the 20th and 21st centuries, either through
peacebuilding, solidarity-building or other efforts to uplift, especially African, societies.
He is happily married with children and grandchildren.