Joseph Sebarenzi was the former president of the Parliament of Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

 (1997–2000) and a vocal peace advocate.

Joseph was educated at Marlboro College

Marlboro College

Marlboro College is a small, coeducational, alternative liberal-arts college in Marlboro, Vermont, USA.-History:Marlboro College was founded in 1946 by Walter Hendricks for returning World War II veterans on Potash Hill in Marlboro, Vermont. The school's operation was initially financed using money...

. He holds a MA and Honorary Doctorate from this college. Before he entered politics, Joseph worked with civil society organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi

Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...

 and Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

. During the genocide in 1994, Joseph lost his parents and many family members. He sought asylum in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, but returned to Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

.

In 1997, he became the president of the Transitional National Assembly of Rwanda

Parliament of Rwanda

The Parliament of Rwanda consists of two chambers:*The Senate *The Chamber of Deputies Prior to 2003 the Parliament of Rwanda was unicameral...

. In 2000, he fled the country, because he was fearing assassination. Joseph is a vocal peace advocate and is a frequent guest on the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 and the Voice of America

Voice of America

Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...

. He is currently engaged in Phd research at the University of Bradford

University of Bradford

The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...

.

External links

• http://www.occc.edu/pioneer/Archives/November_27_2006/Features1.html
• http://www.one-by-one.org/1x1conf2006josephSebarenzispeech.htm