Martin Chungong

Martin Chungong
8th Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Assumed office
1 July 2014

Martin Chungong (born 17 February 1957) is the eighth Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Chungong, a Cameroonian, is the first non-European and first African to be elected IPU Secretary General. He assumed this post on 1 July 2014.

Early life and education

Martin Chungong attended the University of Yaoundé, from where he has a post-graduate degree. He then went to the University of Ottawa, where he obtained a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics in 1982. He also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma from the Polytechnic of Central London (now the University of Westminster). He is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

Career

Martin Chungong worked at the National Assembly of Cameroon for 14 years, including as the Administrative Secretary for Cameroon’s representation to the IPU. He also taught linguistics, translation in the Universities of Buea and Yaoundé in Cameroon.

Joining the IPU in 1993, Martin Chungong worked on parliamentary capacity building in countries in transition or emerging from conflict and served successively as Director for the Promotion of Democracy (2005-2011) and Director of the Division of Programmes (2011-2014). He also served as Secretary of the IPU Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights for eight years.

In 2012, Martin Chungong became Deputy Secretary General of the IPU.[1]

Secretary General

In 2014, Martin Chungong became the first non-European and first African to be elected Secretary General of the IPU in the organization's 125 years.[2][3] He was re-elected for a second term at the IPU Assembly in Dhaka in 2017.[4]

Martin Chungong developed programmes to help parliaments become more transparent, effective and accountable. As chair of the Management Committee on Accountability of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Governance Network, he established governance benchmarks to strengthen democracy.[5]

Martin Chungong is the Parliamentary Representative on the Steering Committee of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, a multi-stakeholder platform to advance the effectiveness of development efforts and to deliver long-lasting results that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.[6]

He is an International Gender Champion, a network of decision-makers working for gender parity. He is also on its Global Advisory Board.[7]

Martin Chungong is one of the 29 global leaders appointed by then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to shape the efforts of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement in eliminating all forms of malnutrition.[8]

Martin Chungong was made Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade, awarded by the International Organisation of La Francophonie to people who have distinguished themselves in the service of its ideals of cooperation and friendship. He also received the Friendship Order from the Viet Nam National Assembly, awarded to foreigners who contribute towards building and developing friendship between Viet Nam and other countries and institutes. In recognition of his contribution to international cooperation, the President of the Republic of Djibouti also awarded him the medal of Officer of the National Order of 27 June 1977.

Personal life

He is married to Stella Chungong, a medical doctor. They have two adult children, Cindy and Martin Jr.

Awards

  • Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade (International Organisation of La Francophonie)
  • Friendship Order (Viet Nam National Assembly)
  • Officer of the National Order of 27 June 1977 (Djibouti)

References

  1. ↑ "Secretary General". 28 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Crossette, Barbara (21 March 2014). "An African Elected Head of the Inter-Parliamentary Union". PassBlue. PassBlue. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  3. ↑ Jeune Afrique (12 December 2014). "Cameroun : Martin Chungong, l'apôtre des Parlements du monde". Jeune Afrique. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  4. ↑ Xinhua (5 April 2017). "Martin Chungong re-elected as IPU Secretary General". Xinhua. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "About GOVNET - OECD". www.oecd.org.
  6. ↑ http://effectivecooperation.org/2017-18-global-partnership-work-programme/
  7. ↑ "Martin Chungong - International Gender Champions". genderchampions.com.
  8. ↑ "Working together in the fight against malnutrition in all its forms". SUN.

Scaling Up Nutrition, 9 July 2018. IPU Secretary-General encourages Speakers of Parliament to accelerate actions to end all forms of malnutrition
IPU, 21 August 2017. IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong (Cameroon) on what is special about democracy?
IPU, 27 June 2018. International Day of Parliamentarism: Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General
iKNOW Politics, 15 March 2017. Interview with Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General
Martin Chungong, World Economic Forum, 5 October 2017. Democratic institutions are under assault. But we can still save them
Daily Motion, 14 September 2015. Entretien du jour avec Martin Chungong

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