Ilhan Omar is a Somali American politician from Minnesota. She is the director of policy and initiative of the Women Organizing Women Network which encourages women from East Africa to take on civic and political leadership roles. In 2016 she was elected a Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) … Read MoreIlhan Omar (1982- )
Joseph Wafula Sitati, petroleum manager and the first man of black African descent to become a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born in Bungoma, Kenya, on May 16, 1952. His parents were … Read MoreJoseph W. Sitati (1952– )
The island of Zanzibar, now a part of Tanzania, was a nineteenth century East African trading empire that fell under the domination of the British who controlled it until the mid-twentieth century. Zanzibar is the leading producer of cloves in the world, which earned it … Read MoreSultanate of Zanzibar (1856–1964)
Seyyid Said, also known as Said bin Sultan, was a resourceful and energetic sultan of Oman who moved the capital from Arabia to Zanzibar in order to initiate clove production and also greatly expanded the East African slave trade. Said’s father, Sultan bin Ahmad (?–1804), … Read MoreSeyyid Said (1790–1856)
Al-Shabaab fighters disengage and lay down arms, September 2012 “Image Ownership: AMISOM Public Information” Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, more commonly known as Al-Shabaab (meaning youth), is a clan-based jihadist terrorist group in East Africa. Originating as the militant youth wing of the Somali Council of Islamic … Read MoreAl-Shabaab (2006- )
Ali Al’amin Mazrui was a Kenyan intellectual in the fields of political science, African studies, and Islamic studies. The father of the African Liberalism ideology (an economic perspective on Africa critical of western powers and Marxism/Socialism) was an often controversial figure due largely to his … Read MoreAli Al’amin Mazrui (1933-2014)
Frankie Annette Reed is a career Foreign Service officer who has held a variety of diplomatic postings in Europe, Africa, and Pacific Island nations. Between 2011 and 2013, she served as concurrent Ambassador to the Republic of the Fiji Islands, the Republic of Nauru, the … Read MoreFrankie A. Reed (1954- )
C. Steven McGann joined the Foreign Service in 1992 and has since attained the status of Career member, Senior Foreign Service, with the rank of Minister-Counselor (FE-MC). His overseas posts have included Taiwan, Zaire, South Africa, Australia, and Kenya. A member of the United States … Read MoreC. Steven McGann (1951 – )
Wilbert J. LeMelle, Sr., was a scholar, development specialist, and ambassador to Kenya and the Republic of Seychelles between 1977 and 1980. In both his academic and diplomatic work, LeMelle urged the United States to become more engaged in Africa, focusing on economic development and … Read MoreWilbert J. LeMelle Sr. (1931-2003)
Alfonso E. Lenhardt is currently Acting Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Republic of Tanzania from 2009 to 2013. A native of New York City, New York, Ambassador Lenhardt began his … Read MoreAlfonso E. Lenhardt (1943- )
