Dr. Mubita Luwabelwa, a Zambian national born on 25 February 1974, was appointed Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on 15 November 2025. He brings to the role over 25 years of extensive experience in national, regional, and international engagements. Prior to his appointment at the ICGLR, he served for eight years as the Director of Policy, Planning and Resource Mobilisation at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat in Gaborone, Botswana (February 2017 – February 2025). In this capacity, he was responsible for high-level inter-governmental and continental engagements, strategic policy formulation, and leading resource mobilization for regional integration, including for peace, security, and development.

His distinguished career includes roles within the Zambian Government, where he held several key positions, including in the Treasury (Ministry of Finance and National Planning) in macroeconomic policy analysis, sovereign debt restructuring, and strategic planning (October 1998 – April 2009). He also held a senior role in the Health Sector, where he led the development of national health systems, including health care financing, health infrastructure and high level stakeholder engagement (April 2009 – January 2017). Dr. Luwabelwa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Zambia, a Doctorate in Business Administration from Binary University (Malaysia)/University of Zambia, and a Master’s Degree in International Development from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo, Japan.