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 Her
Excellency Faida Mitifu earned a Bachelor of Sciences in Biochemistry
Education from the National University of Zaire (D.R.Congo) before
pursuing graduate studies in the United States. She was granted a Master’s
in French Studies from Auburn University (Auburn, Alabama). She went on to
complete a doctorate degree in French and Francophone Literature with a
minor in Comparative Literature at the University of Georgia (Athens,
Georgia). Ambassador Mitifu’s dissertation, written in French, is
entitled: The Representation of Femininity in Zairean Novels.
Her areas of
research interest have included French, Francophone and Lusophone
literature from Africa and the Caribbean. She has presented and published
several academic papers on the portrayal of female characters in novels
written by male authors as well as on women writers and on the writing
process. Dr. Mitifu taught French and African literature and coordinated
the French language program at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA and
at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA.
In addition to
her literary interests, she has developed a keen political acumen. During
the mid-nineties, she was among the most active members of the All North
American Conference on Zaire (ANACOZA), an organization of Congolese
intellectuals working to end the long standing kleptocratic dictatorship
of Mobutu Sese Seko and to pave the way for democracy and good governance
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
After President
Kabila's brutal assassination in January 2001, Ambassador Mitifu
spearheaded Congo's foreign relations by presenting to the world the DRC's
new beacon of hope: President Joseph Kabila, the current Congolese
President. Following Ambassador Mitifu's recommendations, President
Joseph Kabila has made three successful trips to the United States.
Since her
appointment as Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
Washington, Dr. Mitifu has testified before the Congressional Subcommittee
on Africa on the crisis in the Great Lakes region. She also lectures
extensively on the current situation prevailing in the DRC. She has
appeared on numerous television and radio shows to raise public
awareness of the Congo's great potential as an economic entity. |
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