From Nigeria to the Global Stage: The Rise of Amina Mohammed
Amina Jane Mohammed has distinguished herself as a leading figure in global diplomacy and sustainable development, driven by her unwavering commitment to education and social progress. Her journey to success is rooted in a strong foundation and a relentless pursuit of knowledge, making it essential to explore her background and formative years.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Amina Mohammed was born in Kaduna State, on 27 June 1961 to a Fulani Nigerian veterinarian-officer and a British nurse. As the eldest of five daughters, she spent her early years in Nigeria attending Capital School in Kaduna. She later studied at The Buchan School on the Isle of Manchester, UK and furthered her education at Henley Management College in 1989. Notably, despite her extensive professional achievements, she does not hold a formal bachelor’s degree.
Her career began in Nigeria where she worked on the design of schools and hospitals, focusing on improving access to education and other social services. Her dedication to development led her to serve as an adviser to four successive Nigerian presidents, concentrating on poverty reduction, public sector reform, and sustainable development.
Between 1981 and 1991, Amina Mohammed worked with Archcon Nigeria, an architectural design firm in association with Norman and Dawbarn United Kingdom. She founded Afri-Projects Consortium in 1991 and served as its Executive Director until 2001. From 2002 until 2005, Amina Mohammed coordinated the Task Force on Gender and Education for the United Nations Millennium Project.
Subsequently, as the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), she was instrumental in coordinating Nigeria’s debt relief funds to achieve these goals. Her efforts included designing a Virtual Poverty Fund with innovative approaches to poverty reduction, budget coordination and monitoring, as well as providing advice on pertinent issues regarding poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development.
Beyond her official roles, Amina Mohammed founded the Center for Development Policy Solutions and served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s Master’s in Development Practice program. She has also been a member of numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda and the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development. She also chaired the Advisory Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Global Monitoring Report on Education (GME).
In 2012, Amina Mohammed joined the United Nations as the Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning. In this role, she acted as the link between the Secretary-General, his High Level Panel of Eminent Persons (HLP), and the General Assembly’s Open Working Group (OWG), among other stakeholders. She was pivotal in shaping the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals. From 2014, she also served on the Secretary-General’s Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development. Her leadership ensured global consensus on these comprehensive goals aimed at addressing challenges such as poverty, inequality, and climate change.
In recognition of her contributions, Mohammed has received several honours, including the Nigerian national honour of the Order of the Federal Republic in 2006 and the Ford Family Notre Dame Award for International Development and Solidarity in 2015. In 2017, she was named Diplomat of the Year by Foreign Policy magazine.
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