André-Philippe Futa

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André-Philippe Futa (born August 26, 1943) is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is originally from Miabi in the Congolese province of Kasai Oriental.

[edit] Biography

André-Philippe Futa Mudiumbula Tshitumbu Tshipadi was born in Miabi, Democratic Republic of Congo, the only son of Kabongo wa Mfuta wa Kalubi and Tshiambuaya Marie-Madeleine. He is a member of the royal family of Bena Mbayi and Bakwa Dishi. He is planned to be recognized as the Traditional Chief and King of the Bakwa Dishi. Futa is married and is the father of ten children.

Futa was admitted to the Official University of Congo (UOC), where he studied agronomic sciences and graduated with distinctive honors as an agricultural engineer. He then moved to Kamina, where he becomes the head of the regional Companie des Grands Elevages de Katongola. In 1972, he became assistant professor at Université National du Zaïre.

He then attended the University of Florida, earning a master's degree in Food and Resources Economy in 1976. In 1979, he obtained his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University.

In 1980, he entered the African Development Bank (ADB) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where he spent most of his career. In 1997, he was dispatched to the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) as Director. Two years later, he returned to the ADB as the East Africa Representative Director in the regional office of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

In April 2001, Futa returned to Kinshasa when he was called by the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo to join his government as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock. President Joseph Kabila again showed his trust in Futa by appointing him to the Ministry of Economy in November 2002. At the conclusion of the peace negotiations, a Government of National Unity was put in place in June 2003, in which Futa was successively named Minister of Industry and then Minister of Finance. He occupied the latter post until late 2005. During his term as Minister of Finance, Futa was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the World Bank and IMF.

During the National Convention of the Parti de l’Alliance Nationale pour l’Unité (PANU) (National Alliance Party for Unity) in March 2006, he was elected President of the Party.

Dr. Futa is a member of several professional organizations, including Omicron Delta Epsilon and the International Association of Agricultural Economists. He has published works on economic development.