Governor of Kisumu County, Republic of Kenya

Honourable Professor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o is the Governor of Kisumu County, Republic of Kenya. Prior to his election as Governor, he was the Senator of Kisumu County from 2013 to 2017. Professor Nyong’o served as the Minister for Medical Services of the Republic of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. Before then, he was Minister for Planning and National Development from 2003 to 2005. As Planning Minister, Professor Nyong’o led the formulation of the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS); the economic transformation blueprint credited for the positive turn in Kenya’s development under the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government. An accomplished academic, he holds a M.A and PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in Political Science & Philosophy from Makerere University College, Kampala – Uganda. He has published a number of books, articles in refereed journals as well as edited volumes on diverse issues in international politics and development. He is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), where he was also Head of Programmes, before moving to the African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF) as founding Director. Professor Nyong’o is an avid writer and editor. He edited New Path: Journal of African Intellectual Thought (African Research and Resource Forum, Nairobi) and was a member of the International Editorial Committee, Estudios de Asia y Africa, El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico D.F and the International Advisory Board, Development and Change, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. From October to December 2013, Professor Nyong'o was a Brundtland Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In this role, he taught a course in the Department of Global Health and Population titled "Leadership Development in Global Health and Policy-Making in Kenya”. He has served in a number of international committees and Boards including the Africa Monitor; The Nelson Mandela Institute for Science Technology and the Advancement of Knowledge; and the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA). For his accomplishments, Professor Nyong’o has won two distinguished awards, namely the 1995 German-African Award for contribution to scholarship and democratization and the 2005 Africa Brain Gain Award by the Kenyan American Professional Association and Career Nation for contribution to reversing Africa’s brain drain.