Former minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, has been named a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Perry World House, the worldwide affairs centre of the University of Pennsylvania, United States, for the 2026–2027 educational 12 months.
The appointment recognises Gambari’s intensive expertise in diplomacy, battle decision, peacekeeping and worldwide governance.
According to a press release issued by the Executive Director of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, Amb. Sani Bala, the appointment kinds a part of the college’s Tenth-anniversary fellowship cohort, which brings collectively distinguished diplomats, coverage makers and worldwide thinkers.
Gambari is anticipated to interact with college members and college students by way of lectures, workshops, conferences and public programmes, drawing on his a long time of expertise in African affairs and worldwide relations.
He joins a cohort of distinguished fellows, together with former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla Miranda, Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, Médecins Sans Frontières Chief Executive Officer Tirana Hassan and former United States Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth.
The appointment follows his choice earlier in 2026 as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar on the college’s Center for Africana Studies.
Born in Ilorin, Kwara State, in 1944, Gambari has served in a number of key nationwide and worldwide positions spanning academia, authorities and multilateral diplomacy.
He was Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in 1983 earlier than his appointment as minister of External Affairs, a place he held from 1984 to 1985.
He subsequently served as Nigeria’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 1990 to 1999, changing into the nation’s longest-serving consultant in that capability.
At the United Nations, Gambari served as Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa from 1999 to 2005.
He later headed the Department of Political Affairs from 2005 to 2007 and served as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur from 2010 to 2012.
He additionally served as Chief of Staff to former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2020 to 2023.
Beyond public service, Gambari is the founder and chairman of the Abuja-based Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, a assume tank established in 2014 to advertise analysis, coaching and coverage evaluation on battle prevention, democratisation and sustainable growth.
His new fellowship is anticipated to contribute to discussions on international governance, worldwide safety, human rights and up to date diplomatic challenges, whereas offering college students and researchers with alternatives to be taught from his diplomatic expertise.
The assertion described the appointment as one other worldwide recognition of Nigeria’s contributions to scholarship and diplomacy, in addition to a supply of satisfaction for Ilorin Emirate and Kwara State.
It added that Gambari’s participation within the fellowship would strengthen engagement between educational analysis, diplomatic observe and coverage options to international challenges.
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