H.E. President Paul Kagame

President of Rwanda, Co-Chair of the Commission

Paul Kagame is the President of the Republic of Rwanda. He served as Chair of the AU from 2018 to 2019 and chaired the East African Community from 2018-2021. President Kagame continues to lead the AU Institutional reforms and serves as the AU Champion for Domestic Health Financing. He is also currently serving a one-year term as the Chairperson of the AUDA-NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee. Beginning in 1990, as commander of the forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), he led the struggle to liberate Rwanda.

The RPF halted the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, which claimed over a million victims. The hallmarks of President Kagame’s administration are peace and reconciliation, women’s empowerment, promotion of investment and entrepreneurship, and access to information technology, a cause he also champions as Co-Chair of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.

“The transformational impact of broadband on people’s lives and global economies is no longer questionable; the remaining challenge is to extend these obvious benefits to the majority of global citizens and allow them to unleash their creative potential to fully integrate in the information driven global economy. This will require new frameworks for global cooperation in areas of investment, research and technology. The Broadband Commission for Digital Development will work to realize this potential.”