Arlene Render became a Foreign Service officer in 1970 and has since served in many influential positions in the U.S. Department of State, including as Director of the Office of Central African Affairs, and ambassador to Gambia, Zambia, and Ivory Coast. In 1994-1995, Render played … Read MoreArlene Render (1943- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Career Foreign Service Officer Bernadette Mary Allen was commissioned into the U.S. diplomatic service in January 1980. Twenty-five years later, on October 26, 2005, President George W. Bush appointed Allen to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Niger. She … Read MoreBernadette Mary Allen (1955- )
Cynthia Shepard Perry, a Republican and 25 year career diplomat, has served three Republican presidents. President Ronald Reagan appointed her as Chief of Education and Human Resources of the U.S. Agency for International Development where she served from 1982 to 1986, and named her Ambassador … Read MoreCynthia Shepard Perry (1928- )
Bujumbura is Burundi’s capital and largest city. Located on the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, it is only a few miles from the frontier with the Democratic Republic of the Congo by boat through Lake Tanganyika. Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became … Read MoreBujumbura, Burundi (1899- )
Situated over several hills and valleys, Kigali is the capital city of Rwanda and is home to the main administrative and commercial centres of the nation as well as over one million people. In pre-colonial times Mount Kigali was a site of magical renewal overseen … Read MoreKigali City, Rwanda (1907– )
Prince Louis Rwagasore was King Mwambutsa IV’s oldest son, and an important political figure in the history of Burundi, which was then a colony of Belgium. Prince Rwagasore, who was born on January 10, 1932, was the heir apparent of the throne of the Burundi … Read MorePrince Louis Rwagasore (1932-1961)
Omar Bongo was President of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009, over 42 years, and thus ruled longer than any other African leader. Bongo was born in the Beteke region of Gabon on December 10, 1935. He was the youngest of twelve children … Read MoreOmar/Albert-Bernard Bongo (1935-2009)
Beginning on April 7, 1994 and lasting until mid-July of the same year, the Rwandan Genocide was the government-mandated killing of Tutsis and Hutu political moderates. Having commenced in the capital city of Kigali, the violence spread rapidly throughout the Rwandan countryside where, in less … Read MoreRwandan Genocide (1994)
