Politics and international civil servants

The election  of former top international civil servants  to the Malawi  parliement seems to have caused some excitement among Malawi bloggers, with some  going as far as assigning them Ministries that somehow correspond to their past careers READ MORE.

Working for international organizations does not politically prepare you for politics in your country. That skill and political standing you have to cultivate on your own.

This said, many governments have given ex-international civil servants key positions. Only recently, Kabine Komara a senior director at the African Export-Import Bank, was appointed Prime Minister of Guinea  by the new military Junta.

A number of international civil servants have used their previous status to score political points. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. It definitely did not help Simba Makoni, for SADCC boss, in the last Zimbabwe elections.

The record of international civil servants taking on high posts is a mixed one, suggesting the utility of one’s international experience does not automatically translate into valuable experience in national affairs.

The ups and downs of the political life  of Hage Geingob, a UN- ex-official who became Namibia’s first prime minister has some eye-opening lesson for retiring UN  officials who want to venture into politics. In 2002, he was replaced as Prime Minister and appointed as Minister of Regional and Local Government and Housing. He declined the offer and left Namibia for another international job.  In 2004 he left Washington to run for election and won. Now, politically his own man, he is apparently lined- up for the Presidency of Namibia.

Another interesting case that underscores the importance of having your own political base is that of Ousmane Issoufi Maïga an ex-World Bank official  of Mali  This is what Wikipedia has to say

“After the election of Amadou Toumani Touré as President, Issoufi became Minister of the Economy and Finance in the government named on June 14,2002 under Prime Minister Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani. Subsequently, in the government named on October 16, 2002, he became Minister of Equipment and Transport. He remained Minister of Equipment and Transport until he was named Prime Minister on April 29, 2004. After Touré was sworn in for a second term as President, Maïga presented his resignation on June 9, 2007, but Touré asked the government to remain in place. Following the July 2007 parliamentary election, he again presented his government's resignation, which Touré accepted, on September 27, 2007. Touré thanked him for his work as Prime Minister and appointed Modibo Sidibé as his successor on September 28.”

Perhaps the most tragic of these was Diallo Telli, the first Secretary General of the OAU who langushed and starved  to death in a jail in his own country, Guinea.

We have had some funny cases too. Mr. Soglo, a former IMF official became President of Benin. At each rally he would say something like “The World Bank me this or that. He was nicknamed “Monsieur Le President Le Bank m’a dit” (Mr. President told me”) The opposition was to use that against him  that devastating effective and he lost after the first term. Bingu’s own boss tried to run on that ticket in Nigeria but was unsuccessful.

This said, Bingu and Sirlief-Johnson in Liberia seem to have benefitted from their stint in international organizations. Bernard Chidzeo did well as Minister of Finance in Zimbabwe.