Godfrey MagwenziGodfrey Magwenzi

Title: Director of Cabinet

Biography

Mr Magwenzi, a national of Zimbabwe, holds a Masterof Science in International Relations from the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. Prior to joining FAO, Mr Magwenzi was serving as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the United Nations Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) in Rome, Italy, from 2014 to 2019. He joined FAO on 23 September 2019 as Senior Advisor to the Director-General, Office of the Director-General (ODG) and was appointed to the position of Directeur-de-Cabinet in the same office on 1 March 2020.

He started his career in 1988 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MFA) of the Republic of Zimbabwe, where he worked as Administrative Officer in Africa and the Middle East Department and, subsequently, advanced to Senior Administrative Officer. From 1992 to 1997, he was posted at the Zimbabwe Consulate as First Secretary for Trade Promotion in Beira, Mozambique. Between 1998 and2003, he returned to MFA, where he served in different areas of increasing responsibilities, in particular as Principal Administrative Officer in Regional and Economic Cooperation Department, Principal Administrative Officer in Policy Research and Promotion Department, Under Secretary in Administration and Human Resources Department, Under Secretary of Europe and the Americas,and Under Secretary in Policy Research and Promotion Department.

From 2003 to 2006, he served as the Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Zimbabwe in London, United Kingdom. In 2006, he was Director of Policy Research and Promotion and, at a later stage, Director of Multilateral Affairs at MFA. In 2011, he served as a Consul General at the Consulate of the Republic of Zimbabwe in Johannesburg, South Africa.