RWANDAN AMBASSADORS NAMED FOR DRC AND OTHER POSTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000325 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR RW SUBJECT: RWANDAN AMBASSADORS NAMED FOR DRC AND OTHER POSTS Classified By: Ambassador Symington for reasons 1.4 (b) (d) ¶1. (SBU) On May 6, the Rwandan cabinet announced the nomination of several new ambassadors, including most prominently Amandin Rugira as Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Following are biographic notes and Mission comments on the various nominations. ¶2. (SBU) Amandin Rugira, Democratic Republic of the Congo: most recently he served as the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He held prior director positions at the Central Bank, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Prime Minister's Office, and Rwanda Development Bank. He and his wife, Charlotte, have one daughter, who just completed high school in the United States. Rugira is a member of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front RPF),and sits on its Foreign Affairs Committee. Formerly a member of the MDR political party, he joined the RPF after the MDR's dissolution in 2002. He speaks excellent French and English. ¶3. (C) Comment. This new nomination (the previous candidate was nominated in 2004 but never received agrement from the DRC) is the direct result of improved relations between the two nations. We understand the two governments agreed to nominate individuals who are neither members of the military nor intelligence services nor very active politically. The GOR sees Rugira, an unassuming Hutu technocrat, as someone who will offer a positive image to the Congolese population, and can "blend into the diplomatic crowd" in Kinshasa. End comment. ¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Eugene-Richard Gasana, Permanent Representative to the United Nations: Gasana family went to Burundi in 1960, where he was born in 1962. He trained in business studies in Cologne and followed with an Executive MBA course at the European Business School in Maastricht. He later took several courses in diplomacy at UNITAR in Geneva. Prior to his recruitment as a diplomat, Gasana was a banker and did consultant work in Germany. Gasana was the RPF's representative in Germany before the 1994 genocide, and served as Charge d Affaires there until 1995. He then worked as Counselor and Minister-Counselor in the same embassy, serving under current Prime Minister Bernard Makuza. Since that time the two men have been very good friends. From 1999 to 2002, Gasana was Rwanda's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Offices in Geneva. In 2002 he returned to Rwanda as Chairmann of Artel Telecommuncations. In 2004 he was appointed Ambassador to Germany. He served there until November 2008, when the arrest of chief of protocol Rose Kabuye by German authorities led both governments to recall their ambassadors. He speaks fluent French, English and German. ¶5. (C) Comment. Gasana is close to President Kagame and his family. He is a highly successful businessman who was given permission by Kagame to continue his consulting services while serving in diplomatic positions. Gasana was in limbo for several months in Kigali following his recall while the some officials debated whether he was responsible for some officials debated whether he was responsible for informing German authorities that Kabuye was in Germany on "personal" travel. That Gasana was ultimately offered the key Permanent Representative position in New York reaffirms his close relationship with the President. He was also under consideration for the Brussels and Kinshasa positions, but concerns over what is perceived locally as Rwanda's ineffectiveness in New York led to Gasana's appointment as PermRep (see para 10). ¶6. (SBU) Christine Nkurikiyinka, Berlin: Nkurikiyinka grew up in Rwanda. She went to Germany in 1987, and graduated with a degree in Marketing and Human Resources Management in ¶1991. She served in the Rwandan Embassy there in various positions from 1991 until 2005. She then served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the planning department. She returned to Germany as a business consultant in 2006. Nkurikiyinka is the daughter of a pre-genocide politician and is close to Prime Minister Makuza. She is married and has two children. ¶7. (SBU) Gerard Ntwari, Brussels: Ntwari was born in 1962 in the former Kigali rural prefecture. He grew up in Rwanda and graduated with a degree in linguistics from the National University of Rwanda (NUR). He then worked as a secondary school teacher in Kigali. He joined the NUR in 2001 as a teaching assistant. In 2006 he graduated with a Masters in Linguistics from Laval University in Canada. As a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD),he won election to the Chamber of Deputies in the September 2008 elections. He is married and has 5 children ¶8. (SBU) Ambassador Kamari Karegesa, Pretoria: Kamari Karegesa grew up in Uganda. Between 1990 to 1994 he served in the RPF as a full time political "cadre." From 1994 to 2001 Karegesa was Prefet of Byumba Prefecture, before going to South Africa for further studies. He graduated from Wits University in Development Studies. Kamari served as Ambassador in Uganda from 2004 to the present. Kamari is very close to senior RPF leadership and remains an active RPF member. ¶9. (SBU) Ambassador Joseph Nsengimana, Ethiopia/AU: Nsengimana grew up in Rwanda. He graduated with a PhD in linguistics in France, then worked in Rwanda as a NUR lecturer. He is a genocide survivor, losing his wife and 2 children in the 1994 genocide. From 1994 to 2000, Nsengimana, an influential Labor Party (PL) politician, served as Minister of Education and Minister of Public Service and Labor. From 2000 to 2005, Nsengimana worked in the Presidency as a Special Advisor. Most recently, he was Rwanda's Permanent Representative in New York. He remains influential within the PL and is very close to many genocide survivors prominent in business and in politics. He tried unsuccessfully to play a mediating role during the 2007 leadership dispute within the PL (07 Kigali 865). ¶10. (C) Comment. Nsengimana was reportedly selected by NSS Director Ndahiro as PermRep in New York. His lack of diplomatic experience was a decided disadvantage in the UN and there is a general sense that Gasana will be much more proactive in advancing Rwanda's multilateral agenda. SIM