Margaret Kobia

Margaret Kanyiri Kobia is a Kenyan civil servant who was nominated by President Uhuru Kenyatta as Cabinet Secretary for the Public Service, Youth, and Gender Affairs, on 26 January 2018. Prior to her current position, she served as the chairperson of the Kenya Public Service Commission from December 2012 until January 2018.

Background and education Kobia was born in Meru County. Her mother was a farmer and housewife and her father was a police officer. She is the first-born in a family of seven siblings, five sisters, and two brothers. Kobia attended Mariinya-A-Ruibi Primary School. She then studied at Alliance Girls High School, which she joined in 1972, for both her O-Level and A-Level education, graduating in 1977.

In 1979, she was admitted to the University of Nairobi, graduating with a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree. In 1990, she was admitted to Kenyatta University, where she obtained a Master of Education (MEd) degree, specializing in teacher education, in 1991. Later, in 2003, she graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, in Human Resource Education and Entrepreneurship, from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she studied on scholarship.

Other considerations Kobia has received a number of awards, including the "Order of Grand Warrior" (OGW), the Order of "Chief of Burning Spear" (CBS), Elder of Golden Heart (EGH) and the "Commonwealth Gordon Draper Award". She was elected as the Vice President and board member of the Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management (CAPAM), in October 2014. She was awarded the 2019 distinguished Alumni Award by the College of Education, University of Illinois. She is the Chancellor, St Paul's University, Kenya since 2018. She is a fellow at the Kenya Institute of Management and at the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya.