Media Relations
News Releases
For Release Upon Receipt - April 17, 2007
Contact:
Richard Taffe, 617-353-4626, rtaffe@bu.edu
FORMER CAPE VERDEAN PRESIDENT MONTEIRO NEWEST BOSTON UNIVERSITY AFRICAN PRESIDENT-IN-RESIDENCE
Plans to engage New England’s large Cape Verdean community during BU stint
(Boston) – Former two-term President António Mascarenhas Monteiro of Cape Verde has accepted an appointment as the newest African President-in-Residence at Boston University’s African Presidential Archives and Research Center, it was announced today by APARC Director Charles Stith, a former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania.
Funded by a $1 million grant from the Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation, the residency enables democratically elected former African leaders to spend up to two years at BU sharing insights on contemporary trends in Africa. Zambia's Kenneth Kaunda was named the first Balfour President-in-Residence in 2002. Since then, Ruth Sando Perry of Liberia, Karl Auguste Offmann of Mauritius, and Sir Q. Ketumile Masire of Botswana have been APARC guests.
Monteiro was Cape Verde’s second president since the former Portuguese colony became independent in 1975. He was first elected in 1991, the first president chosen in a multi-party election, and was reelected in 1996 with nearly 80 percent of the vote.
“With the sizeable Cape Verdean population in New England, we are excited about President Monteiro being available to engage that community even as we engage the broader community about the historic links between the U.S. and many African nations,” said Stith.
“Cape Verde is one of eight African countries to receive sizeable grants through the Millennium Challenge Account, created by the Bush administration,” Stith said, “so this will be an opportunity to understand the potential for that program to aid nascent democracies as they attempt to grow their economies and deliver a democracy dividend for their citizens.”
Stith’s announcement came as APARC marks its fifth anniversary with a teleconference forum – a simultaneous breakfast in Los Angeles, lunch in Boston, and dinner in Johannesburg – to honor four individuals for their positive contributions to African-U.S. relations.
The Boston gathering honored Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, the new Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for the Republic of Tanzania, the first women to hold the post. It was her first major public appearance since assuming the UN post in February.
Honored in Los Angeles was Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr., founder of the Save Africa’s Children organization, which runs more than 320 orphan care projects across 21 African countries, and for 30 years pastor of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles.
Two were honored in Johannesburg: Joaquim Chissano, who served from 1986 to 2005 as the second president of Mozambique and is now a special envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Guinea-Bissau; and South African President Thabo Mbeki, elected in 1999 to succeed Nelson Mandela after a career leading that nation’s anti-apartheid efforts.
A dozen African former presidents attended the APARC forum, as well as students from the U.S. and African colleges participating in the APARC American-African Universities Collaborative, and invited business, government, and entertainment guests.
Stith founded APARC to complement BU’s African Studies program — one of the nation’s oldest, established in 1953. APARC organizes forums regarding Africa's global relationships, and hosts the residency program for African former heads of state.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is the fourth largest independent university in the United States, with more than 30,000 students in its 17 colleges and schools. BU has established an international reputation for excellence in teaching and conducting research on Africa, and has built and maintained broad collaborations with institutions in Africa.
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For more on APARC visit http://www.bu.edu/aparc