Dr. Mwangi S. Kimenyi, Senior Fellow and founding Director of the Africa Growth Initiative in the Global Economy and Development program of The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., passed away at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore on June 6, after a long battle with cancer. The Global Peace Foundation extends its deepest condolences to his wife, Irene, and family, and gratefully honors his lifelong commitment to advancing the welfare and prosperity of Africa’s peoples.
Dr. Kimenyi served as the Founding Executive Director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), ranked the top policy institution in Africa and recognized as an international center of excellence, and as Research Associate with the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Dr. Kimenyi was recognized in 2014 with the Global Peace Award for Scholarship at the Global Peace Convention in Asuncion, Paraguay.
“Dr. Mwangi with his wife, Irene, went into the remote hills of Molo-Kurosoi, epicenter of post-election violence in Kenya in 2008, and interviewed hundreds of youths to document their successful peace work across tribal boundaries,” said GPF Vice President for Strategic Partnerships David Caprara. “He served as an esteemed member of Global Peace Foundation’s Regional Leadership Council in Africa, and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him and benefited from his efforts as a scholar, peacemaker and devout family man.”
Dr. Kimenyi has been a recipient of many honors and awards including co-winner of the Outstanding Research Award (2001) by Global Development Network and the Georgescu-Roegen Prize in Economics (1991). In 1994, Dr. Kimenyi was named by the Policy Review among the top ten young market economists in the United States.