Sam Kutesa

Sam Kutesa (2018)

Sam Kahamba Kutesa (born February 1, 1949 ) is a Ugandan politician .

biography

After studying law , he worked as a lawyer from 1973 to 2001. Already during his studies he was politically active and stood with Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in opposition to the then dictator Idi Amin . In 1973 he joined Museveni's Front for National Salvation (FRONASA).

However, his real political career began in 1980 when he was elected Member of Parliament, where he represented the constituency of Mbabara North until 1985 . Subsequently, between 1985 and 1986 he was Attorney General at the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs in the government of Tito Okello .

After he had withdrawn from political life for several years, he was appointed Minister of State for Investments in the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry in the cabinet of Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi in 2001 by President Museveni after his re-election .

On January 13, 2005, he was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs. In September 2005 he gave a speech at the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York . When an international arrest warrant was issued against the President of Sudan , Umar al-Bashir in March 2004 , he was among the critics of the arrest warrant (as did China , Russia , the Arab League , the African Union ), who used the charges as an obstacle to peace negotiations consider in Darfur . In an interview in August 2009, he presented his assessment of the conflict situation in the region, particularly in Somalia . In June 2014, he was elected President of the UN General Assembly.

Since 2008 he has been married to the sister of Museveni's wife.

criticism

Kutesa has been criticized by Western human rights organizations for advocating the prosecution of homosexual people. He supported the tightening of sentences signed by President Yoweri Museveni in February 2014. He is also said to have accepted bribes from international oil companies as a lawyer.