Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka

Mrs. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka is the highest ranking African woman in the United Nations system. She joined UN-HABITAT as Executive Director in September 2000.

Mrs. Tibaijuka has spearheaded UN-HABITAT’s main objective of improving the lives of slum dwellers in line with the Millennium Development Goals. UN-HABITAT is responsible for leading the effort on Target 11 of those goals - improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020.

Prior to joining UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Tibaijuka was the Special Coordinator for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked and Small Island Developing Countries at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), responsible for strengthening the capacity of LDCs in trade negotiations with the World Trade Organization.

From 1993-1998, she was an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Dar-es-Salaam. During this period she was also a member of the Tanzanian Government delegation to several United Nations Summits.

A Tanzanian national, Mrs. Tibaijuka is a champion of women’s rights. She is the founding Chairperson of the independent Tanzanian National Women’s Council (BAWATA) and of the Barbro Johansson Girls Education Trust, dedicated to promoting high standards of education for girls in Tanzania and in Africa. She has published five books and many articles.

Mrs. Tibaijuka holds a Doctorate of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden, as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University College London.