Jeje Odongo

General Haji Abubaker Jeje Odongo is a Ugandan senior military officer and politician. In June 2021, he was appointed Uganda's cabinet minister for Foreign Affairs.[1]

Jeje Odongo
Odongo in 2022
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda
Assumed office
21 June 2021
Preceded bySam Kutesa
Personal details
Born (1951-07-09) 9 July 1951
Uganda Protectorate
Alma materNkumba University
(MA in International Relations & Diplomacy)
OccupationPolitician, military officer

He has previously served as Minister of Internal Affairs in the Cabinet of Uganda from 2016 to 2022. Previously he served as Minister of State for Defence from February 2009 to June 2016.[2][3]

History

Jeje Odongo was born in Amuria District, in the Teso sub-region, in Eastern Uganda. He attended secondary school at Ngora High School.[4] He entered the Ugandan army in 1979. He is one of the original twenty seven combatants who, together with Yoweri Museveni, attacked Kabamba Military Barracks in February 1981 to start the Ugandan Bush War, a guerrilla war that lasted from February 1981 until April 1986. Jeje Odongo was captured soon after the first NRA operation and was imprisoned in Luzira Maximum Security Prison.[5]

In 1994, Jeje Odongo was one of the ten army officers who represented the Ugandan military in the Constituent Assembly that drafted the 1995 Ugandan Constitution. In 1996, he was selected to replace Colonel Sserwanga Lwanga as the Political Commissar in the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF). Also in 1996, he contested the parliamentary seat for Amuria District in the Ugandan Parliament. He won and was appointed as Minister of Defence soon after he entered parliament.

In 1998, he resigned his parliamentary seat and his cabinet position and was appointed Commander of the Army, taking over from Major General Mugisha Muntu. He served as army commander until 2001, when he was replaced by Major General James Kazini. In 2001, he was appointed as Minister without Portfolio, a position he occupied until 2004. In 2004, now at the rank of Lieutenant General, Jeje Odongo was appointed as Minister of State for the Environment.[6]

Between 2001 and 2006, he was one of 10 senior UPDF officers who represented the Ugandan military in the 8th Ugandan Parliament.[7] In May 2008, Jeje Odongo graduated with the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy from Nkumba University.[8] On 16 February 2009, he was promoted to General and appointed Minister of State for Defence.[9] After seven years in that post, he was instead appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs in the cabinet list announced on 6 June 2016.[10]

On 18 February 2022 he participated in the European Union - African Union Summit in Brussels. A controversy arose when he greeted President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, only after an intervention by Emmanuel Macron, which was considered a misogynistic attitude.[11]

References
  1. New Vision (9 June 2021). "President Museveni names new Cabinet". New Vision. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. Newvision Archive (18 February 2009). "Full Cabinet List". New Vision. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  3. Uganda State House (6 June 2016). "Museveni's new cabinet list At 6 June 2016" (PDF). Daily Monitor. Kampala. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  4. Otim, Richard (16 June 2014). "Ngora High marks 100 years as Teso education anchor". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  5. Jeje Odongo Reveals NRA Roots, Africa News Service, 10 June 2002
  6. Matsiko, Grace; Kamali, Geoffrey (11 February 2004). "Museveni Raised to A Full General". New Vision. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  7. Newvision Archive (17 February 2006). "UPDF Elects Its MPs". New Vision. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  8. "Is Jeje Odongo Warming Up for Diplomacy?". New Vision. 2 May 2008. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  9. State House Uganda (27 May 2011). "Comprehensive List of New Cabinet Appointments & Dropped Ministers". Facebook.com. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  10. Uganda State House (6 June 2016). "Uganda's New Cabinet As At 6 June 2016". Scribd.com. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  11. Ashleigh Furlong (18 Feb 2022). "Missed handshake at Africa summit has awkward Sofagate echo". Politico. Retrieved 20 Feb 2022.
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