Page 21 - Powerlist 2019 - Digital Edition

7 The Top 10

Professor
Funmi

Olonisakin

Professor of
Security, Leadership &
Development,
King’s College London;
Founding Director,
African Leadership Centre

NEW
2019

leading British-Nigerian scholar, Professor organisations such as Economic Community of West African
Funmi Olonisakin was this year appointed Vice States and the African Union.
A President and Vice Principal, International and She has worked in the Office of the United Nations Special
Professor of Security, Leadership and Development at King’s Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and
College London. Armed Conflict, overseeing its Africa work. There, she
She is founder of the African Leadership Centre, based facilitated the establishment of the National Commission for
at King’s College and the University of Nairobi. The ALC is War Affected Children in Sierra Leone.
an academic unit and global community of scholars whose In 2016, the University of Pretoria appointed her as an
research on peace, leadership and security issues aims to Extra-Ordinary Professor. The Geneva Centre for Security
inform and influence policy change in Africa and worldwide. Policy (GCSP) also appointed her as a Distinguished Fellow in
Funmi was previously programme director of the ALC April 2014.
King’s College, London, MSc programmes on Security, Funmi is a founding member of the African Security
Leadership and Society, and Leadership and Development, as Sector Network and served as its West African Regional Co-
well as the Postgraduate Research Programme on Leadership ordinator from 2008 until 2012.
Studies with Reference to Security and Development. She From 2008-2010, she served on the World Economic
served as Director of the Conflict, Security and Development Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Fragile States. She
Group at King’s College London for a decade from 2003. currently serves as the Chair of the International Advisory
Trained in Political Science and War Studies, Funmi has Board of the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute.
positioned her work as a bridge between academia and the In January 2015, she was appointed by the UN Secretary-
world of policy and practice. General, Ban Ki-moon, as one of seven members of the
Her academic research has contributed to strategic Advisory Group of Experts on the Review of the UN
thinking in post-conflict contexts and in the work of regional Peacebuilding Architecture.

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