Honorary degree citation - Clare Akamanzi

By: Lisa Ndejuru, June 2018

Mr. Chancellor, it is my honour to present to you Ms. Clare Akamanzi, a public administrator central to Rwanda’s renaissance.

Clare Akamanzi was born and raised in Uganda to Rwandan refugee parents. Despite having to move frequently, she eventually obtained degrees in trade and investment law. She began her career as a diplomat in London, then a trade negotiator at the WTO in Geneva, but her talents soon attracted the attention of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Elle a été responsable de la stratégie et de la politique du président Kagame et fait actuellement partie de son cabinet.

Peu importe où elle va, Madame Akamanzi se démarque par son dévouement. En 2016, à l’obtention de son diplôme de maîtrise en administration publique de la Harvard Kennedy School, elle s’est vu accorder trois distinctions – une première pour son excellence universitaire, une deuxième pour son attachement au service public et une troisième pour sa contribution à la communauté.

She considers the greatest of Rwanda’s many natural resources its people. An emphasis on science and technology is at the centre of policies the current government has adopted to transform from an agrarian to a service-based economy.

As CEO of the Rwanda Development Board, she is helping spur private-sector growth and attract foreign investment to expand the country’s finance, telecommunications and travel industries, among others.

Under her oversight, Rwandair has capitalized on its central location to become a hub for Africa – and the continent’s fastest growing airline. Thanks to all these policies, and their rigorous measurement and reporting, the country has climbed 150 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index since in 2006.

Mr. Chancellor, on behalf of Senate and the Board of Governors, it is my privilege and honour to present to you Ms. Clare Akamanzi, so that you may confer upon her the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.