Her Excellency Amina J. Mohammed
Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 February 2017[1]
Secretary-General	António Guterres
Preceded by	Jan Eliasson
Minister of Environment
In office 11 November 2015 – 15 December 2016
President	Muhammadu Buhari
Preceded by	Lawrencia Laraba-Mallam
Succeeded by	Ibrahim Usman Jibril
Personal details
Born	Amina Jane Mohammed 27 June 1961 (age 61) Liverpool, England
Citizenship	Nigeria  England
Political party	All Progressives Congress
Education	The Buchan School
Alma mater	Henley Management College

How Old is Amina J. Mohammed?

27 June 1961 (age 61)

Where is Amina J. Mohammed From?

Early life and education

Amina Jane Mohammed was born in Liverpool, England, the United Kingdom on June 27, 1961, to a Hausa-Fulani Nigerian veterinarian–officer and a British nurse. She is the eldest of five daughters.

Mohammed attended a primary school in Kaduna and Maiduguri in Nigeria and Buchan School in the Isle of Man. She further attended Henley Management College in 1989. After she finished her studies her father demanded she returns to Nigeria.

Career

Between 1981 and 1991, Mohammed worked with Archon Nigeria, an architectural design firm in association with Norman and Dawbarn United Kingdom. In 1991, she founded Afri-Projects Consortium, and from 1991 to 2001 she was its Executive Director.

From 2002 until 2005, Mohammed coordinated the Task Force on Gender and Education for the United Nations Millennium Project.

Mohammed later acted as the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In 2005, she was charged with the coordination of Nigeria’s debt relief funds toward the achievement of the MDGs. Her mandate 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.

Mohammed later became the Founder and CEO of the Center for Development Policy Solutions and an Adjunct Professor for the Masters in Development Practice program at Columbia University. During that time, she served on 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).

From 2012, Mohammed was a key player in the Post-2015 Development Agenda process, serving 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. From 2014, she also served on the Secretary-General’s Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development.

Minister of the Environment (2015–2017)

Mohammed served as Federal Minister of Environment in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari from November 2015 to February 2017. During that time, she was Nigeria’s representative in the African Union (AU) Reform Steering Committee, chaired by Paul Kagame. She resigned from the Nigerian Federal Executive Council on 24 February 2017.

In 2017, Mohammed was accused by an advocacy group of granting illegal permits to Chinese firms to import endangered Nigerian timber during her term as Nigeria’s environment minister. The Nigerian government has denied the claims.

Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (2017–present)

In January 2017, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced his intention to appoint Mohammed Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. In this capacity, she is a member of the UN Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (IACG).

Amina J Mohammed Quotes

“We must design a future that is shaped by women and girls – that realizes their rights and aspirations to a world where equality is a reality.”

“…The commodity that we have to share with the world is hope.”

“…we need to think collectively about the responsibility of what we do to make sure there is a more equitable world, that everyone is included and that we really think about our footprint in our home.”

“I think education opened up huge vista and opportunities and networks and the courage to do with those skills what you can.”

“You need a different skillset that looks at taking advantage of opportunities that are much more of an entrepreneurial skill that you can add as you address many of the market opportunities.”

“…this whole Fourth Industrial Revolution is about a different kind of education and skillset that you need for the jobs that are going to be out there.”

“People matter. If people didn’t matter, we wouldn’t be where we are today. We need to put people first at the center of everything we do.”

Lessons From The Life of Amina J Mohammed

Courage

Amina is a fearless woman who stands up to challenges. Even as a young girl, she disclosed how she raised money in the community to travel. According to her, after her father’s refusal to fund her study travel, she told everyone that she would walk from Kaduna to Zaria. In a bet to argue that she couldn’t walk the distance, Amina raised the sum of £4,000 to cover her expenses.

Amina has been using her education and exposure to make a global difference. Despite mitigating forces toward the attainment of the 2030 agenda for SDGs, she is more willing and committed to achieving the UN vision.

Dedication

Amina didn’t reach this height on a platter of gold, indeed, it was well deserved. Starting from her role as SA to the President of MDGs, together with her team, they reduced maternal mortality by over 30%.

Also, she increased access to water by 40%. Aside from this, Amina has proven countless times, that she is capable to deliver whatever is committed to her hands.

Today, she is regarded as one of the most powerful women in Africa by Forbes Magazine. Also, she sits at the table of the world’s greatest leaders.

“The hard way is the best way.”

“The only purpose of power is to serve with the courage of one’s conviction that all people in the world have rights that must be respected.”

Other activities

• Africa Europe Foundation (AEF), Member of the High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations (since 2020)
• Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, member of the Board of Directors (since 2017)
• ActionAid, International Right to Education Project, member of the Advisory Board
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Member of the Global Development Program’s Advisory Board
• Hewlett Foundation, member of the Board
• International Development Research Centre, member of the Board of Governors
• International Gender Champions (IGC), Member
• Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC), member of the Advisory Board
• World Economic Forum‘s Young Global Leaders, member of the Board

Recognition

• 2006 – Order of the Federal Republic
• 2007 – Nigerian Women’s Hall of Fame
• 2015 – Ford Family Notre Dame Award for International Development and Solidarity
• 2017 – Diplomat of the Year Awards
• 2018 – Sarraounia chieftaincy title of Niger in 2018, installed by that country’s Kings
• 2018 – BBC 100 Women for her work as deputy secretary general of the United Nations
• 2019 – Global Citizen Prize World Leader Award

Leaders Bio – Ahmed Fatimah Bisola Biography, Career, Networth, Age, Spouse,

Personal life

Mohammed’s daughter, Nadine Ibrahim, is a film director.

Bibliography

• Kabir, Hajara Muhammad,. Northern women development. [Nigeria]. ISBN 978-978-906-469-4. OCLC 890820657.

Leaders Bio – Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure Biography, Career, Education, Spouse,

References