Serigne Mbaye Thiam, former Minister of National Education and former Minister for Water and Sanitation in Senegal, is the GPE High-Level Envoy and Advisor for Education.
In this role, he attends events on behalf of GPE, meets with world leaders and partners, advocates for education at the highest levels of government and provides advice to GPE senior management on strategic issues.
From 2018 to 2021, he was Vice Chair of the GPE Board of Directors. Between January 2013 and December 2014, Mr. Thiam was a member of the GPE Board of Directors, representing the Africa 2 constituency, which included 18 francophone countries. Between February 2014 and December 2015, he was the chair of the GPE Governance, Ethics, Risk and Finance Committee.
Mr. Thiam has held various civil service positions in Senegal since 1996, including as Deputy and Minister of Higher Education and Research. He also worked extensively in the parastatal and private sector, consulting, accounting and corporate finance.
Mr. Thiam also represented his country on UNESCO’s Executive Board and is member of the UNESCO International Commission on the Futures of Education.