Trustee
Ambassador Adeyemi Dipeolu (PhD) is currently the Special Adviser to the President for Economic Matters in the Office of the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was Director of the Capacity Development Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) till December 2015. In this role, he directed technical cooperation and advisory services to African countries. He was a member of the Technical Committee and Head of Secretariat of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. He was also responsible for the Regional Coordination Mechanism for UN Agencies in Africa and for ECA’s work relating to the NEPAD Program and the African Peer Review Mechanism. He also oversaw the innovative work undertaken on ‘conflict and development’ and on ‘smart industrialization in Africa.’
Dr. Dipeolu’s earlier assignments at the Economic Commission for Africa included serving as Chief-of-Staff and as Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC). In the former role, he supported the Executive Secretary in the repositioning of ECA and the deepening of strategic partnerships with the African Union, the African Development Bank, and development partners. As ATPC Coordinator, he supported African countries in international trade negotiations and in the mainstreaming of trade into national development plans and strategies.
Before joining ECA, Dr. Dipeolu was in the Nigerian Foreign Service. He served in overseas missions including Geneva, Switzerland; Pretoria, South Africa; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Caracas, Venezuela. His postings at home included the Nigerian Presidency where he served as Special Assistant in the Office of the Chief-of-Staff to the President, as well as in the International Economic Cooperation and African Affairs Directorates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Amongst other roles, he was the Coordinator of the African Group in UNCTAD in Geneva and served on the Observer Team of the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) that monitored the 1994 multi-racial elections in South Africa.
Dr. Dipeolu obtained his doctorate degree in economics from the University of South Africa. His got his M.Phil degree in the Economics and Politics of Development with Distinction from the University of Cambridge and won the Jennings Prize of Wolfson College for outstanding performance. He undertook diplomatic studies at the Oxford University Foreign Service Programme as a Chevening Scholar graduating with all round distinction. Dr. Dipeolu studied economics at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) where he won two merit scholarships as a National Scholar and UAC of Nigeria Scholar. He serves on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations dedicated to education, gender, and public policy issues.