Ambassador Amina Salum Ali
1. Ambassador Amina Salum Ali is the Permanent Representative of the African Union to the United States. As the African Union Ambassador to the U.S.,
2. Ambassador Ali speaks on behalf of the African Union and its Member States on the African Union's strategies to, accelerate socio-economic integration of the continent, promote peace and stability, build partnerships between African governments and all segments of civil society, in particular women and youth, as well as the private sector based on a common vision of a united, strong and prosperous Africa.
3. One of the major functions of her office is to support the African Diplomatic Corps in their efforts to consolidate and strengthen partnership with both the Executive and Legislative Branches of the U.S. Administration, including building political constituencies to advance the goals and objectives of the African Union as well as organizing the African Diaspora to contribute towards Africa's socio-economic development.
4. Ambassador Ali's mandate also consists of informing American popular opinion about Africa and the African Union, as well as articulating Africa's key concerns and priorities. In building political constituencies in Washington, Ambassador Ali works towards nurturing and sustaining bilateral and multilateral relationships, with the U.S. Congress and Agencies, the Bretton Woods Institutions and the Organization of American States.
5. A veteran Tanzanian civil servant and politician, Ambassador Ali was born and raised on the island of Zanzibar and educated in India, where in 1979 she earned a bachelor's degree in economics, and two years later an MBA in marketing.
6. She has held various ministerial positions in the Tanzanian government, the most recent of which was minister of state in the office of the chief minister in Zanzibar and was also a long-serving member of Parliament. Ambassador Ali has also served as a board member of various institutions such as the Tanzania Telecommunication Company and Mzumbe University in Morogoro. In addition, she established various capacity-building institutions including the Institution of Finance Administration and the Presidential Fund for Self-Reliance.