Gertrude Mongella

Gertrude Mongella Ibengwe (* September 13, 1945 at Ukerewe, Lake Victoria, Tanzania) from 2004 to 2009, the first president of the Pan-African Parliament of the African Union. In 2009 she was re-elected for a further term until 2014.

After studying education at the University of Dar es Salaam Mongella was Julius Nyerere Kambarage and Ali Hassan Mwinyi, among others, from 1982 to 1986 women and 1985 to 1987 Minister of Tourism and 1989-1991 Minister without special responsibilities in Tanzania. She then moved as a diplomat in the service of the United Nations and led, among others, from 1993 to 1995, the UN World Conference on Women. In March 2004, she was elected President of the Pan-African Parliament. In 2005, she was honored for its commitment to peace in Africa with the Delta Prize for Global Understanding. Also in 2005, she received the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize Drum Major for Justice Award.