Kankwenda Mbaya Justin was born on June 20, 1945. He worked for the United Nations as Deputy to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (2003-2005). Prior to that, his positions included UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in several African countries including Burundi, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. He was also Division Chief and Chief Economist for UNDP Africa in New York. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his home country, he was professor at the University of Kinshasa and at the School of journalism (1980-1988), CEO of the Institute for Scientific Research (1980-1981), Special Adviser to the Minister of Planning (1984-1985), and Vice-Minister for national economy and industry (1985-1986). He has extensively published on DRC and African development issues, including agriculture and food security, industrialization, poverty eradication, conflict and peace building, development governance and cooperation. He is currently the CEO of the Congolese Institute for Development Research and Strategic Studies (ICREDES/CIDRESS), and International consultant with UN Agencies (UNDP, UNFPA, UNWOMEN, WFP…), AU and African institutions/organisations, African Governments, and other international organisations as well. Kankwenda received his PhD in development economics (National University of Zaire), a Master’s Degree (African Institute for Economic Development and Planning in Dakar), and a Bachelor’s Degree (Lovanium University in Kinshasa). He is a recipient of several decorations and honors from the DRC, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria.