Claver Gatete has been appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. This diplomat currently represents Rwanda at the United Nations in New York.

An experienced economist, Gatete has held several key positions in Rwanda. He served as Minister of Infrastructure from 2018 to 2022 and Minister of Economic and Financial Planning from 2013 to 2018. He also worked at the National Bank and the Central Bank of Rwanda as Governor and then Deputy Governor between 2009 and 2013.

Gatete’s diplomatic career began in 2005 in London, where he served as Rwanda’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Iceland until 2009. Previously, he worked as an economist for the United Nations Development Programme in Kigali and for Statistics Canada in Ottawa.

Claver Gatete holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of British Columbia. Fluent in English and able to work in French, his appointment marks a new phase in strengthening economic development in Africa and honoring the work of his predecessor, Vera Songwe.