Winnie Byanyima facts for kids
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Quick facts for kids
Winnie Byanyima
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Byanyima in 2015
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| Born | 13 January 1959 Mbarara, Uganda
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| Nationality | Ugandan |
| Citizenship | Uganda |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester (Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering) Cranfield University (Master of Science in mechanical engineering) |
| Occupation | Engineer, politician, and diplomat |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Political party | Forum for Democratic Change (since 2004) National Resistance Movement (until 2000) |
| Spouse(s) | Kizza Besigye |
Winifred Byanyima (born 13 January 1959) is a remarkable Ugandan woman. She is an aeronautical engineer, a politician, and a strong voice for human rights and women's rights. She is also a diplomat, which means she represents her country to others.
Since November 2019, Winnie Byanyima has been the executive director of UNAIDS. This important organization works to end the HIV and AIDS epidemic around the world. Before this, from May 2013 to November 2019, she led Oxfam International, a global charity that fights poverty.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Winnie Byanyima was born in Mbarara District in the Western Region of Uganda. At that time, Uganda was under British rule. Her parents were Boniface Byanyima and Gertrude Byanyima. Her father was a national leader for the Democratic Party in Uganda, and her mother was a schoolteacher.
Winnie attended Mount Saint Mary's College Namagunga for her schooling. She then went to the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. There, she earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering. This made her the first Ugandan woman to become an aeronautical engineer, which is a big achievement! Later, she earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Cranfield University. She focused on how to save energy.
A Career of Service
From Engineer to Activist
After becoming an engineer, Winnie Byanyima worked as a flight engineer for Uganda Airlines. However, her path changed when Yoweri Museveni, who later became Uganda's President, started a war in 1981. Winnie left her job to join this armed group. Interestingly, Museveni and Winnie had grown up together in the Byanyima family home.
Winnie, Museveni, and Winnie's husband, Kizza Besigye, all fought in the National Resistance Army (NRA) during that war. After the war ended, Winnie and her husband later disagreed with President Museveni's leadership. They felt his rule was not democratic, despite his earlier promises.
Public Service and Diplomacy
From 1989 to 1994, Winnie Byanyima served as Uganda's ambassador to France. This meant she represented Uganda's interests in France. After her time as an ambassador, she returned to Uganda and became very active in politics.
She was part of the group that wrote Uganda's 1995 Constitution. Then, she was elected as a member of parliament for Mbarara Municipality. She served two terms, from 1994 to 2004. After that, she became the director for Women, Gender, and Development at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In November 2006, she was appointed director of the Gender Team at the UNDP.
Leading Oxfam International
In January 2013, Winnie Byanyima was chosen to be the next executive director of Oxfam International. She started this important role on May 1, 2013. In December 2017, she agreed to serve a second five-year term as Oxfam's leader.
In January 2015, Winnie Byanyima helped lead the World Economic Forum in Davos. She used this big meeting to push for actions that would reduce the gap between rich and poor people. Oxfam's research at the time showed that the richest 1 percent of the world's population owned almost half of the world's wealth.
In November 2016, the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, asked Winnie Byanyima to join a special panel. This panel focused on making sure people could get important medicines.
Leading UNAIDS
In August 2019, Winnie Byanyima was appointed as the executive director of UNAIDS. This appointment was made by the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres. In this new role, she also serves as a United Nations Under-Secretary-General.
Besides her work at UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima is also a member of the World Bank Group’s Advisory Council on Gender and Development. Since 2022, she has been part of the Commission for Universal Health.
At the 2024 International AIDS Conference in Munich, Winnie Byanyima strongly encouraged Gilead Sciences to allow a medicine called Lenacapavir to be made more widely available. She wanted it to be part of the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool. This would allow cheaper versions of the medicine to be sold in countries with lower incomes, similar to how Gilead Sciences already shares access to other HIV medicines.
Other Activities
Winnie Byanyima is involved in many other important groups:
- She is a member of the Prize Committee for the Virchow Prize for Global Health.
- She serves on the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
- She is a member of the Advisory Board for Equality Now, an organization that works for women's and girls' rights.
- She is also a member of International Gender Champions (IGC).
Personal Life
On July 7, 1999, Winnie Byanyima married Kizza Besigye in Nsambya, Kampala. Kizza Besigye was the former chairman of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) political party in Uganda. They have one son named Anselm. Winnie Byanyima is a member of the FDC party. She has five siblings: Edith, Anthony, Martha, Abraham, and Olivia.
See also
In Spanish: Winnie Byanyima para niños
