Kenyan lawyer, Binaifer Nowrojee was on Monday, March 11 appointed as the global lead of the Open Society Foundations.
In a statement issued by the organisation, Nowrojee will ascend to the position once current President, Mark Malloch-Brown vacates the position in June 2024.
Norwojee, makes history as the first woman from the Global South to hold the prestigious position.
The Open Society Foundation operates in 120 countries and issues grants for research to support democracies across the globe.
Norwojee who is a Kenyan from an Indian family holds a Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) from Columbia Law School and an LLM degree from Harvard Law School.
Her appointment which was unanimously approved by the organisation's board has been celebrated by the billionaire founder George Soros, who stated that the appointment falls in line with his vision for the organisation.
“At the outset, that was merely an aspiration. But now I feel that this ambition has been fulfilled” with Nowrojee’s appointment as president," Soros explained.
Previously, Norwojee served in various capacities within the organisation with the most recent being as Vice President of Programs on the Executive Leadership Team.
She has also served as the East Africa Foundation Director, Regional Director for Asia Pacific, and Vice President for Organizational Transformation.
The organisation’s leadership praised her for playing a central role in orchestrating a significant strategic and structural realignment of Open Society, enhancing its capacity to effect change in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Norwojee’s appointment followed a culmination of a reorganisation process of the OFS in a bid to improve its support of democracies in the organisation.
While describing the process, Norwojee stated, “We have endured a prolonged period of disruption, and this has not come without pain and loss, as many of you have said goodbye to colleagues and ended relationships with long-time grantees.
