Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu

Ambassador Adeyemi Dipeolu (Ph.D.), a trade and development expert, was the former Special Adviser to the President for Economic Matters in the Office of the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He came to this position from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), where he held senior positions, including Chief of Staff, Director of the African Trade Policy Center, and Director of the Capacity Development Division. He directed technical cooperation and advisory services to African countries in this role. He was a member of the Technical Committee and Head of the 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 on ‘conflict and development’ and ‘smart industrialization in Africa.’ Before joining the United Nations, Dr. Dipeolu had an illustrious career in the Nigerian Foreign Service. He started as a Third Secretary in 1980 and rose to the rank of Ambassador. In the course of his work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specializing in African affairs and international economic cooperation, he also served in the Nigerian Presidency, the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations in Geneva, and in Nigerian diplomatic missions in Pretoria, South Africa; Addis Ababa; Ethiopia, and Caracas, Venezuela.