Prior to his appointment as Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the ECA, Mr. Gatete was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Nations in New York. A seasoned economist, he brings to the position extensive strategic leadership expertise, coupled with international experience in the political and financial landscape of the African continent. Mr. Gatete has served in senior government positions, notably as Minister of Infrastructure (2018-2022) and Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (2013-2018).
He has also served as Governor (2011-2013) and Deputy Governor (2009-2011) of the National Bank of Rwanda, Rwanda’s Central Bank, and Secretary General and Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in Rwanda (2003-2005). He was Director General for Economic and Social Affairs in the Office of the President of Rwanda (2000-2003), during which time, he served as the President’s Representative to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and Coordinator of the National African Peer Review Mechanism.
Mr. Gatete began his diplomatic career in 2005 and was based in London until 2009 as Rwanda’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Iceland. Prior to this, he served as National Economist of the United Nations Development Programme in Kigali (1998-2000) and Economist of Agriculture and Agri-Food and of Statistics Canada, in Ottawa, Canada (1993-1997).
Mr. Gatete holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of British Columbia in Canada. He is fluent in English with working knowledge of French.