United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women
Christine Kapalata elected Chair of the Preparatory Committee for the Beijing +5 Special Session of the General Assembly
Ms Christine Kapalata, a national of the United Republic of Tanzania, has been elected Chair by the members of the Commission on the Status of Women Acting as the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly, "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the 21st century".
Ms. Kapalata is Minister Counsellor, and Head of Chancery, at her Government's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Prior to her trasfer to the Tazanian Mission in 1998, Ms. Kapalata served in the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, where she began in 1980 as Third Secretary in the Department for Information, Research, and Policy Planning. She subsequently served as Second Secretary and Head of Chancery at the Tanzania High Commission in Lagos Nigeria (1985-1990), First Secretary and Acting Head of Section for the West Africa Section in the Department of Africa and the Middle East (1990-1993), Counselor at the Department for International Cooperation and Legal Affairs (1994-1998).
Ms. Kapalata holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a post graduate Diploma in International Relations from the University of Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania and a MA degree in International Relations from the University of Wollongong in Australia.