Florence Mugasha

Florence Mugasha was appointed Deputy Secretary-General on May 1, 2002 having served as Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet in the Office of the President of Uganda.Mrs Florence Mugasha was Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet in the Office of the President of Uganda from 1996 to 2002. She has had a distinguished career in the Ugandan Public Service commencing in 1972, rising to the rank of Permanent Secretary in 1990 and eventually being appointed in November 1996 to the most senior public service position in the Uganda Government, a position she held for over five years.

Mrs Mugasha was the first woman Head of Public Service in Uganda, and in the course of her duties and professional career, she was instrumental in spear-heading Public Service Reforms. In her role as Head of the Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet, she provided leadership and direction to the Ugandan Public Service and policy advice to the President of Uganda on the entire range of issues of national concern.

Mrs Mugasha represented Uganda at a number of important regional and international meetings, including the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the Commonwealth summits in Edinburgh in 1997, Durban in 1999 and Coolum in 2002. She has also been associated closely with the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management as a member of Board of Directors, and the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) as an Executive Member.

Mrs Mugasha has served as a Resource Person and Facilitator at numerous international conferences and seminars addressing various themes on Public Service Reforms and running of Cabinet, in many countries worldwide, including Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Singapore, Beijing China, New Zealand, London UK, South Africa, Washington DC USA, Malawi, and United Nations in New York.

Mrs Mugasha was a member of the Board of Directors for Uganda Management Institute from 1997 to 2002 and a member of the Board of Directors for Uganda Aids Commission from 1996 to 2001. She was appointed Chancellor of the Uganda Management Institute in 2006 by President Yoweri Museveni.

Mrs Florence Mugasha assumed her duties as Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth on 1st May 2002 and thus became the second woman to serve in that capacity in the Commonwealth Secretariat. She is responsible for political, legal, constitutional and human rights issues. Her responsibilities also include youth affairs, human resources, corporate services, IT and other aspects of Commonwealth Secretariat administration.

[These details are from the Commonwealth Secretariat’s website - www.thecommonwealth.org. The Secretariat is happy for this information to be posted on wikipedia.]