Daniel Owassa

Daniel Owassa (born ) is a Congolese diplomat and senior civil servant. He has served as the Ambassador of the Republic of the Congo to Ethiopia and as Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Early life and education Daniel Owassa was born in Fort-Rousset (now Owando), Republic of the Congo. In 1988, he received a scholarship to study at the University of Oxford, where he earned a diploma in Diplomatic Studies in 1989. His dissertation, titled National Leadership in Africa: The Statistics of Political (In)stability 1960–1988, was published in 2017 and republished in 2019.

Career

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Owassa joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984. He served as head of the East and Southern Africa Section (1986–1987), head of the Organization of African Unity Section (1987–1988), and special adviser (1989–1990). He was diplomatic attaché to President Denis Sassou-Nguesso (1990–1992) and later diplomatic adviser to Prime Minister (1993–1996).

Secretary of State On 2 September 1996, Daniel Owassa entered the Charles David Ganao government as Secretary of State to the Minister of Public Service and Territorial Administration, in charge of reforms and administrative simplification. He held this position until the outbreak of the June 5, 1997 civil war.

Return to diplomacy In 2000, he became diplomatic adviser to then Foreign Minister Rodolphe Adada. On 3 May 2005, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a position he held until 2012.

Diplomatic career abroad In April 2012, Owassa was appointed by the president of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou-Nguesso Ambassador of Congo to the People's Republic of China. He was also accredited to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, North Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Singapore. He served in this role until June 2021.

In November 2021, he was appointed Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. His jurisdiction also includes Djibouti and Eritrea. In June 2022 and October 2023, he served as rotating chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council. He represented the Republic of the Congo in formally depositing its instrument of accession to the Organisation of Southern Cooperation (OSC).

Honours Grand Officer of the Congolese Order of Merit (2 October 2006) Commander of the French Legion of Honour (9 October 1996)

Personal life Daniel Owassa is married and has four children.

Publication National leadership in post-colonial Africa: Statistics of political (in)stability. Our Knowledge Publishing, June 29, 2021. ISBN 978-6203783667.