Ambassador ralph uwechue biography for kids
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Former President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Amb. Ralph Uwechue, 79, is dead
Chief Uwechue, OFR, died at the National Hospital, Abuja, Thursday afternoon. He was said to have been ill since November last year.
Uwechue, former Ambassador to Liberia, and a former Publisher of the defunct African Today, was born at Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State in 1935. He attended St. John’s (Rimi) College, Kaduna from 1949-1954, as a foundation student and was retained as a teacher in the school for 18 months before proceeding for further studies.
He obtained a BA (Hons) degree in History from the University College, Ibadan, 1960 and a Diploma in International Law and French language, 1964, from the Geneva African Institute, Switzerland.
A career diplomat, Uwechue joined the Nigerian Foreign Service at its inception in 1960, and served in a number of countries, including Cameroun, Pakistan and Mali. He was Nigeria’s first diplomatic envoy to France, where he opened the Nigerian Embassy in Paris, 1966.
He also served with UNESCO in Paris as Consultant on “general History of Africa” project between 1967 and 1970, before he retired to private business in 1970, as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of magazines and books on Africa, published in both English and French.
He was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the KNOW AFRICA books- a three-volume encyclopaedia comprising, Africa Today, Africa Who’s Who and Makers of Modern Africa.
He later lectured on African Affairs for 10 years at the Royal College of Defence Studies, London, United Kingdom. As Ambassador Extraordinary and plenipotentiary, Uwechue has, since 1999, been the Special Presidential Envoy on Conflict Resolution in Africa to the Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo. He played a key role in the peaceful settlement of the decade-long Sierra Leonean civil war, which culminated in free and fair elections in 2002.
In recognition of his “meritorious service to Black and African Peoples worldwide”, Uwechu Another mighty iroko has fallen with the death of erudite diplomat, internationally renowned publisher and one-time President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ambassador Ralph Uwechue. Uwechue, according to a reliable source close to his family, died earlier today, aged 80. Though his death is yet to be formally announced, tributes are already pouring in for the departed giant. In his tribute, Chief Goddy Uwazuruike, President of Aka Ikenga, the Igbo think tankhas said “Ambassador Uwechue was a great man, a diplomat, a leader of people, an author, a publisher and a respected Igbo leader. We will miss his mature advice.” Born at Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, in 1935 Uwechue attended St. John’s (Rimi) College, Kaduna from 1949-1954, where he was a foundation student. He was retained as a teacher in the school for a period of eighteen months before proceeding for further studies. Uwechue obtained a BA (Hons) degree in History from the University College, Ibadan, 1960 and a Diploma in International Law and French Language, 1964, from the Geneva African Institute, Switzerland. A career diplomat, Ambassador Uwechue joined the Nigerian Foreign Service at its inception in 1960, and served in a number of countries, including Cameroun, Pakistan and Mali. He was Nigeria’s first diplomatic envoy to France, where he opened the Nigerian Embassy in Paris, 1966. Ambassador Uwechue also served with UNESCO in Paris as Consultant on “general History of Africa” project between 1967 and 1970, before he retired to private business in 1970, as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of magazines and books on Africa, published in both English and French. He was the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the renowned KNOW AFRICA books – a three-volume encyclopaedia comprising, Africa Today, Africa Who’s Who and Makers of Modern Africa. For ten years (1980-1990) Ambassador Uwechue lectured on African Affairs at the Royal College of Defenc Nigerian diplomat and publisher (1935–2014) Raphaël Chukwu Uwechue (13 May 1935 – 13 March 2014), often abbreviated as Raph Uwechue, was a Nigerian minister, diplomat and publisher. He is a former president-general of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, an Igbo socio-cultural organization in Nigeria. Born on 13 May 1935, in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Nigeria, Uwechue attended St. John's College in Kaduna from 1949 to 1954. He graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1960 with a degree in history. In 1964, he obtained a diploma in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. He was a doctoral student in political science at the École pratique des hautes études from 1970 to 1973. Uwechue entered Nigeria's foreign service at its inception in 1960 and served in Cameroon, Pakistan and Mali. In 1966, he opened the Nigerian embassy in Paris as its first envoy. From 1967 to 1967, during the Nigerian Civil War, he acted as Biafra's representative in Paris. He was then made ambassador to Liberia and to United Nations Mission in Côte d'Ivoire. After leaving the foreign service in 1970, Uwechue became a publisher of books and magazines on Africa. He was founder and publisher of the renowned Know Africa books, a three-volume encyclopaedia comprising Africa Today, Africa Who’s Who and Makers of Modern Africa. He was also the publisher of the now-defunct African Today magazine. In 1999, Uwechue became the Special Presidential Envoy on Conflict Resolution in Africa to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In that role, Uwechue played an active role in the peaceful resolution of the Sierra Leone Civil War. He was made minister of health under President Shehu Shagari in 1993. From 2000 to 2007, he became the Economic Community of West African States' S
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