ambassador, republic of Uganda 08

Opening Remarks

Ambassador santa mary laker kinyera

Ambassador Santa Mary Laker Kinyera is a Ugandan career diplomat who has served in Uganda’s Foreign Service for over 20 years She has worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ugandan Missions abroad in various capacities She has had extensive experience in the Service, specializing in bilateral peace and security matters; economic and regional integration matters

During her career, she has represented Uganda at different multilateral and regional fora including the East Africa Community (EAC), African Union (AU) and InterGovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and United Nations (UN)

Over the years, she rose up the diplomatic ranks from Third Secretary to the level of Ambassador and is currently the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Uganda Embassy in Washington, D.C.

In 2014-2015, Ambassador Santa Kinyera served at the United Nations (UN) in New York, as the Advisor to the 69th President of the UN General Assembly on Third Committee matters (Committee on Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Affairs) This Committee addresses issues relating to the advancement of women, the protection of children, and the right to self-determination; as well as important social development questions related to youth, family, criminal justice, and international drug control, among others She was part of the Team that worked hard to formulate the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for

U N’s Agenda 2030

Ambassador Santa Kinyera has also participated in various peace initiatives under the auspices of the African Union and IGAD, for the resolution of the conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia In 2000, she was a member of the Inter-ministerial Team set up for the return of Ugandan children abducted to Sudan by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)

Ambassador Santa Kinyera has served her previous diplomatic postings in Copenhagen, Denmark; Ankara, Turkey and New York, USA.

She holds a Masters Degree of Social Science, in Development and International Relations (Aalborg University - Denmark); a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Administration and Management (Uganda Management Institute), and a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree (Makerere University - Uganda). She also holds a Mastery Certificate in Negotiation from Harvard Business School.

She is married, with 4 children.

Miss Black Virginia, USA 2023