Mohamed Abdi Affey

Mohamed Abdi Affey
Mohamed Abdi Afey at the signing ceremony for the formation of Somalia's Federal State of Hiran and Middle Shabelle in Mogadishu, Somalia, on August 8, 2015.
Personal details
Born	1968 (age 56–57) Wajir County, Kenya
Political party	Kenya African National Union
Alma mater	University of Nairobi
Occupation	Diplomat

Amb. Mohamed Abdi Affey (born 1968) is a Kenyan politician who is currently serving as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and former UNHCR Special Envoy to the Somalia Refugee situation. Before joining UNHCR, Ambassador Affey was the IGAD'S Special Envoy to Somalia^[1] and a former member of Parliament for Wajir South Constituency (1997-2002). He also served as a nominated member of parliament (2008-2013) for ODM-Kenya, Kenya's Ambassador to Somalia (2003-2007) and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya (1997-2002).

Education

Amb. Affey hold a master's degree in International Conflict Management from the University of Nairobi and a bachelor's degree in Sociology and Political Science from Kenyatta University.^[2] He speaks fluently Somali, English and Kiswahili.

Political life

At 27 years old, Affey was one of the youngest politicians in Kenya's history to be elected to Parliament, representing Wajir South constituency on a KANU Party ticket. He served a stint in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Deputy Minister from 1997 to 2002.^[3] In 2002, Affey tried to defend his nominated parliamentary seat on a KANU ticket but lost in the primaries. In July 2003, President Mwai Kibaki appointed him as Kenya's Ambassador to Somalia, a position he held until May 2007 before he resigned to become the IGAD's Special Envoy to Somalia.^[4]

In 2016, Ambassador Affey was appointed by the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, to become the UNHCR Special Envoy to the Somalia Refugee situation, one of the most protracted refugee situation in the world. During his mandate, he actively participated in the development and implementation of the IGAD Nairobi Declaration for Refugees,^[5] aiming to deliver durable solutions for more than 900,000 Somali refugees as well as over a million displaced persons within Somalia.

In 2018, he got appointed to become the first UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa,^[6] covering the eight IGAD countries. His mandate consists mainly in political advocacy to find durable solutions for the displaced population in the Horn of Africa but it is also extended to parliamentary engagement, resource mobilization and stakeholder engagement (including the private sector, diaspora and celebrities).

The UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa is currently based in Nairobi but often travels in the region and worldwide to perform his mandate.

References

1. Busuri, Abdullahi. "IGAD - IGAD Appoints a New Somalia Envoy". Retrieved 2017-11-23.
2. "Mohammed Abdi Affey". Mzalendo. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
3. Wajir South Constituency
4. "The world's most dangerous job". www.hiiraan.com. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
5. "IGAD - Nairobi Declaration on Somali Refugees".
6. "UNHCR appoints Ambassador Mohamed Affey as Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa".