The year 2022 has come and gone but not without leaving behind some beautiful memories to hold on to.
One such memory involves the celebration of African personalities who distinguished themselves in various spheres of life.
At the forefront of this is the African Leadership Organisation which is renowned for promoting excellence in leadership across the African continent and beyond.
As is tradition with the organisation, it announced some notable Africans as winners of its prestigious persons of the year 2022 in different categories.
In this piece, we will be profiling the winners of the 11th African Leadership Magazine Persons of the year 2022.
1. AFRICAN OF THE YEAR 2022
H.E DR. JULIUS MAADA BIO.
Julius Maada Bio is the current president of Sierra Leone.
Born on 12th May 1964, President Bio completed his primary, secondary and undergraduate education in Sierra Leone after which he ventured into the public service as a teacher before joining the Sierra Leone Army where he rose through the ranks to the position of Brigadier.
He served in various capacities as ;
Chief Secretary of State, Chief of Defense Staff, Minister of Information, Minister of Marine Resources, Deputy Head of State, and ultimately Head of State of Sierra Leone from January to March 1996.
As Head of State in 1996, President Bio presided over the conduct of the first democratic elections in Sierra Leone in nearly three decades.
Presently in Sierra Leone, President Julius Maada Bio is popularly referred to as the “Father of Democracy” because of his outstanding contribution towards the restoration of democracy and attainment of peace in the country.
2. AFRICAN FEMALE LEADER OF THE YEAR 2022
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the seventh Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is a global finance expert, an economist, and an international development professional with over 30 years of experience which spans across continents.
She has served on the boards of various organisations such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Incorporated.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was a two-time Finance Minister in her home country, Nigeria, and also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
She had a career with the World Bank spanning 25 years as a development economist where she rose to the position of Managing Director, Operations.
3. AFRICAN EDUCATIONIST OF THE YEAR 2022
Dr. GETRUDE NWANGALA AKAPELWA.
Dr. Gertrude Nwangala Akapelwa is the Founder and Vice-Chancellor of the Victoria Falls University of Technology, Zambia which she helped establish in 2002.
Dr. Akapelwa has 49 years of working experience in leadership, strategic management, and operational functions in various key sectors of the economy.
She served as the Chairperson of the Zambia ICT Authority Board, the regulator of the ICT sector in Zambia and also served the African Development Bank (ADB) in different capacities for 23 years, in Ivory Coast and Tunisia.
4. AFRICAN INDUSTRIALIST OF THE YEAR 2022.
Patrice Motsepe.
Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe is a South African businessman and entrepreneur.
He is the Founder and Executive Chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, ARM.
Motsepe made his fortune through mining interests which expanded to a successful multifaceted mining company, ARM, which has investments in gold, ferrous metals, base metals, and platinum.
He sits on several company boards, including being the non-executive chairman of Harmony Gold, the world’s 12th-largest gold mining company while his firm, African Rainbow Minerals, controls 19.8 percent of Harmony.
5. AFRICAN POLITICAL LEADER OF THE YEAR 2022.
H.E. Hakinde Hichilema, President of Zambia.
Hakainde Hichilema popularly referred to as President H.H. is the current Zambian President.
The 50-year-old businessman came into power in 2021 after having contested five previous elections in 2006, 2008, 2011,2015, and 2016.
Under his leadership, Zambia has recorded several successes, from the introduction of free education at the primary and secondary levels to a substantial increase in the Constituency Development Fund to upholding the rule of law and respecting human rights and freedoms.
6. AFRICAN PHILANTHROPIST OF THE YEAR 2022.
Tsitsi Masiyiwa.
Tsitsis Masiyiwa is a social entrepreneur devoted to empowering young Africans with educational opportunities and access to technology.
She is the Executive Chairperson and co-founder of Higher Life Foundation Zimbabwe.
In the last two decades, Masiyiwa through the Higher life Foundation has supported the education of over 250,000 vulnerable students in Zimbabwe, Burundi, and Lesotho.
She is also the lead organizer of the African Gender Initiative, a network targeted at uniting African philanthropists behind the common goal of advancing gender equality across the continent.
7. EMERGING AFRICAN LEADER OF THE YEAR 2022.
Emma Theophilus.
Emma Theophilus is the Deputy Minister of Information, Communication, and Technology, in Namibia.
Her appointment as deputy Minister came at age 23 making her one of Africa’s youngest ministers.
She is a board member of Namibia’s National Council for Higher Education and has a law degree from the University of Namibia as well as a Diploma in African Feminism and gender studies from the University of South Africa.
8. AFRICA PEACE & SECURITY LEADER OF THE YEAR 2022.
Yankuba Drammeh.
Yankuba Drammeh is a Gambian military officer and is also the current Chief of Defence Staff of Gambia.
His military career saw him rise to the rank of Brigadier General and Deputy Chief of Defence Staff before he was dismissed from the army by Yahya Jammeh on 30th November 2009 but was later reinstated in December of the same year as a Major General after being cleared of any wrongdoing.
Reassigned from the military, Drammeh also served his country in the diplomatic service as Ambassador to Turkey and then as Consul-General in New York before going back to the military.
9. AFRICAN ENERGY LEADER OF THE YEAR 2022
Patricia Simon-Hart.
Patricia Simon-Hart is the founder and Managing Director of Aftrac Limited, an oil and gas service company that has been operational for over 20 years.
She is also the Secretary to the Executive Board of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), and a co-founder and Vice President of Women in Energy Network.
Patricia has over 30 years of experience in Management, Public Policy, and Administration. She began her career in the Information and Communications Technology sector after which she set out to establish her own oil service company.
