Former Senate President François-Xavier Kalinda, 61, was on Thursday, September 26, unanimously re-elected soon after the new Senators took oath of office.
In his acceptance speech, Kalinda promised his colleagues, and the nation at large, that he will cooperate and consult effectively to ensure they deliver on their duties.
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He said: "This Senate has Senators who have worked in different capacities to deliver for the country and I promise Rwandans that we shall strive to deliver to their expectations.”
The former member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), first became Senate President when he was appointed by President Paul Kagame, on January 6, 2023, less than a month after former Senate President, Augustin Iyamuremye, resigned due to illness.
On January 9, 2023, Senators unanimously elected the then 60-year-old as the new Senate President.
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Just like last year, on Thursday, Kalinda stood unchallenged, as he again became Rwanda’s number two – in official hierarchy – after the Head of State.
The Bureau of the Senate which consists of the President of the Senate and the two Vice President, was also elected.
Kalinda will be deputised by Solina Nyirahabimana, vice president in charge of parliamentary affairs, who replaces Espérance Nyirasafari, and Dr Alvera Mukabaramba, vice president in charge of finance and administration, who previously served in the same position.
Kalinda, a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), was one of the five Rwandan lawmakers who returned home after finishing their two terms in the regional parliament in December 2022, when the Fourth Assembly’s life and tenure ended.
The former Dean of the School of Law, at the University of Rwanda, joined EALA in 2015 during the Third Assembly, when he replaced Celestin Kabahizi who had resigned. Kalinda continued to serve in the Fourth Assembly, from 2017 to 2022. In the regional Parliament, among others, Kalinda served as a member of the EALA Commission, the leading committee which manages the affairs of the regional Assembly, organises the business and programme of the House, and nominates members of other committees. Kalinda was also the Vice Chairperson of the Rwanda chapter in the regional House.
Born in Kitabi Sector, in Nyamagabe District, the father of five earlier worked as a lecturer, and researcher, at the University of Rwanda’s College of Arts and Social Sciences, where he was member of the academic senate.
After graduating from the then National University of Rwanda, in 1996, he pursued a Master of Law in Intellectual Property Rights at the University of Ottawa, in Canada. He completed it in 1999.
Eleven years later, in 2010, he obtained a PhD – a Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Business Law – from the University of Strasbourg in France.
There is more to this very modest, or unpretentious, man who has, just like last year, promised not to disappoint in his new duties as he continues to serve Rwandans.
He is a down to earth, patriotic, hard working, well-mannered, and honourable man.
Throughout his seven-year stint in EALA, Kalinda never stopped lecturing – part time – at the University of Rwanda. He continued to teach, as a guest lecturer, both at UR and the Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD), something that endeared him to his students, former university colleagues and others.
Four out of the five senate presidents Rwanda has had, since 2003, except Bernard Makuza (October 2014- October 2019) who was an independent, came from PSD.