Rwanda to re-nominate Louise Mushikiwabo for OIF Secretary-General

By The Inspirer.

Rwanda has announced it will once again nominate Louise Mushikiwabo for the position of Secretary-General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).

President Paul Kagame’s decision was confirmed by Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, in an interview with Jeune Afrique.

“Given the Secretary-General’s exceptional achievements, which have been widely recognized and praised, and after consultations with her, Rwanda has decided to renew Louise Mushikiwabo’s candidacy at the upcoming OIF Summit of Heads of State and Government in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, this November,” Minister Nduhungirehe said.

The OIF’s General Assembly, set for November 2026 in Phnom Penh, will hold the election for Secretary-General.

Speaking to journalists on November 20, 2025, at the close of the 46th OIF Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Kigali, Mushikiwabo said she was heartened by the support of numerous member states, many of which urged her to continue in the role and promised to back her candidacy.

“In that context, many countries asked me to continue and expressed their support,” Mushikiwabo said. “I told them I am not like Abdou Diouf, who served three terms. Nonetheless, I was deeply touched by their confidence and encouragement.”

Mushikiwabo, born in 1961, noted she would first review whether Rwanda’s retirement regulations might affect her eligibility. “I will respond after consulting with my country’s leadership,” she added.

Mushikiwabo’s second term as OIF Secretary-General began in November 2022. If re-elected, she could surpass the record of Senegal’s Abdou Diouf, who served from 2003 to 2014.

Prior to her OIF appointment, Mushikiwabo served as Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation from December 2009 to October 2018. She has been Secretary-General of the OIF since January 2019.