25 Facts About Reuben Olembo

Professor Reuben James Olembo was a prominent Kenyan academic, scientist and environmentalist.

Reuben Olembo was a deputy executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, which he played a pivotal role in helping found, and United Nations Assistant Secretary General from 1994 to 1998.

Reuben Olembo became the Acting Secretary General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, after his retirement from UNEP.

Reuben Olembo was born on November 28,1937, in Bunyore in the then Vihiga District of Kakamega in Western Province, Kenya.

Reuben Olembo excelled in his studies at Kima Primary School, and then Maseno School, both of which were mission schools.

Reuben Olembo's parents were both ministers in the Church of God, established in his village by American missionaries.

Reuben Olembo attended Purdue University in Indiana and between 1961 and 1965 he was awarded his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.

Reuben Olembo moved back to Kenya to join the Department of Botany at the University of Nairobi.

Reuben Olembo was appointed chairman of the department in 1970, aged 33.

Reuben Olembo was the first Kenyan to be a professor in the department and to head it.

Reuben Olembo introduced new, rigorous courses in genetics at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

Reuben Olembo was a strong advocate for education in Kenya and neighboring countries.

Reuben Olembo served as an examiner for the Cambridge University School Certificate, a chief examiner for the East African Examinations Council, and an external assessor for university degrees in Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania.

Reuben Olembo wrote and was widely published on genetics, ecology and environmental policy.

Reuben Olembo was a member of the African delegation to the 1972 Stockholm Conference that led to the creation of UNEP.

Reuben Olembo joined the organisation in 1974 as a Senior Programme Officer.

Reuben Olembo played key roles in strengthening a number of Multilateral Environmental Agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna, where he was interim Secretary-General between 1998 and 1999; the Convention on Migratory Species, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

Reuben Olembo had a prominent role in establishing The World Soils Policy, the Tropical Forest Action Plan of 1985, and the Microbial Resource Centers.

Reuben Olembo was the president of several Conference of Parties meetings among numerous international conferences on environmental matters that he led and spoke at.

Reuben Olembo was the longest serving member of the Board of Trustees of the Kenya National Parks, to which he was appointed in 1967.

Reuben Olembo served as a national government advisor on environmental affairs to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Reuben Olembo developed the blueprint for what became the National Environmental Management Authority.

Reuben Olembo was then appointed a managing trustee of the Kenya National Environment Trust Fund.

Reuben Olembo joined the Board of Directors of the Kenya Seed Company in 2003, where he served until his death in March 2005 after participating in a company strategic planning retreat.

Reuben Olembo was a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, a Fellow of the Kenya Academy of Sciences and a member of the International Genetics Federation.