Monica Juma

Monica Kathina Juma (born 26 September 1963) is a Kenyan diplomat who currently serves as Executive Director at the UNODC and director general of the United Nations Office at Vienna. She has previously served as National Security Advisor to President William Ruto. She previously served as the Cabinet Secretary for Defence in the cabinet of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Early life and education Juma studied at the University of Nairobi for her Bachelors of Arts in Government and Public Administration and Masters of Arts in Government and Public Administration and University of Oxford, Certificate in Refugee Studies and where she also attained her Doctorate of Philosophy in Politics.

Diplomatic career Juma has a long career in the diplomatic service, having served as Kenya's concurrent ambassador to Ethiopia, Djibouti, the African Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, based out of Addis Ababa. On 27 June 2013, she was sworn in as the Principal Secretary, in the Kenya Ministry of Defence, serving in that capacity until she was moved to the Kenya Ministry of the Interior, as Principal Secretary.

Political career Juma served as the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between January 2016 and February 2018.

She served as the Principal Secretary in the State Department of Interior, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government.

Prior to serving in the Ministry of Interior, Juma served as the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Defence.

On 23 May 2024, Juma was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in honor of President William Ruto at the White House.

Other activities Juma is a senior research fellow in the Department of Political Science, at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the African Centre for Strategic Studies of the National Defense University, in Washington, D.C. in the United States of America. She has written and published extensively on the subjects of her specialization.