Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, is 1,500 kilometres east of mainland Africa. Nearby island countries and territories include the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and the French overseas departments of Mayotte and Réunion to the south; and the Chagos Archipelago and Maldives to the east. Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa as well as the least populated sovereign African country, with an estimated population of 100,600 in 2022.
UN Tourism is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Other offices include: a Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific in Nara, Japan and a Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
France-Albert René was a Seychellois lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the second President of Seychelles from 1977 to 2004. He also served as the country's second Prime Minister from its independence in 1976 to 1977.
James Alix Michel, GCSK is a Seychellois politician who served as the third President of Seychelles from 2004 to 2016. He previously served as vice president under his predecessor, France-Albert René, from 1996 to 2004.
Franco-Seychellois are people of French descent living in the Seychelles. Franco-Seychellois have played an important role in the country's history both before and since independence.
Danielle Marie-Madeleine Jorre de St Jorre was a Seychelles politician. She was the foreign minister of Seychelles under President France-Albert René from 1989 until her death in 1997. Danielle de St Jorre was a teacher by profession and also a linguist. She was known as a pioneer in the promotion of Creole language. Her passion and determination to ensure the development of Seychellois Creole was known in the Indian Ocean island nation.
Najib Balala is a Kenyan politician who formerly served as the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism. He traces his ancestral origin to the Hadhrami people of Yemen. He is a former M.P. for Mvita Constituency and leader of The Republican Congress Party of Kenya (RC), a partner of the Jubilee Coalition.
Ronald Jean Jumeau is a Seychellois political figure and diplomat. He is currently the New York-based roving Ambassador for Climate Change and Small Island Developing State Issues of the Republic of Seychelles since 2012. Previously, Ambassador Jumeau has held various ministerial positions in the government from 1998 to 2007, and adopted the role of Permanent Representative of the Seychelles to the United Nations and Ambassador to the United States from 2007-2012.
Articles related to Seychelles include:
Walter Mzembi is a Zimbabwean politician. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry. He was the Member of the House of Assembly for Masvingo South (ZANU-PF). It was announced on November 27, 2017, that Simbarashe Mumbengegwi was now the acting Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe. In October 2020, it was revealed Mzembi was among those who fled to South Africa before their criminal trials could be completed.
Taleb Rifai is a Jordanian businessman and politician, who was the Secretary-General of the United Nations' World Tourism Organization between 2010 and 2017. He was the first Jordanian to hold a UN agency Secretary General position.
Rolph Antoine Payet FRGS is a Seychellois international policy expert, researcher and speaker on environment, climate and island issues, and was the first President & Vice-Chancellor of the University of Seychelles. He was Minister of Environment and Energy in the Cabinet of Seychelles from 2012 to 2014. He is currently United Nations Executive Secretary for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention.
Kenneth Wykeham McNeill, MD, MP, CD is a Jamaican politician and former Member of Parliament for Westmoreland West, Jamaica. He is a former government minister. He was the Minister of Tourism of Jamaica from 2012 to 2016. He was elected the first vice chair of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization representing Jamaica in 2012 and elected chairman of the Executive council for the 2014-2015 period. McNeill was elected a Vice President of The People's National Party at the Party's annual conference in September 2016.
Jean-Paul Adam is a Seychellois politician. He served as Minister of Health and Social Affairs in the Cabinet of Seychelles until 30 October 2020. He previously served as Minister of Finance, Trade & The Blue Economy from 2015 to 2016, and, before that, as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2015. He is currently Director Policy, Monitoring and Advocacy in the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa to the Secretary-General. Immediately prior to this, over 2020–2023, he was Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician who served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts. She was appointed to this position by President John Mahama in 2013 when he formed his first substantive government. She is a member of the National Democratic Congress. She is currently a member for the 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana representing the Techiman North Constituency.
The Vanilla Alliance is an airline alliance formed in September 2015. The alliance is the fourth largest in the world as of 2018, trailing Oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam. All of the airlines within the alliance operate in the Indian Ocean region and are based in sovereign states that are members of the Indian Ocean Commission or French overseas territories in the Indian Ocean.
Theresa Josephine Cafrine was a woman from Seychelles, known for writing about her suffering from leprosy. Her wounds were said to have miraculously healed upon her death. The journal that she kept documenting her life with leprosy was published as an autobiography after her death. Cafrine was inducted into the Seychelles Women's Hall of Fame in 2012 and a committee from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Victoria is gathering evidence for a potential beatification.
Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa is a Bahraini politician and former government minister.
Zurab Pololikashvili is a Georgian politician and diplomat, currently serving as Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization. From 2005 to 2009 he was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, and he served as ambassador to Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Andorra.
David P. Scowsill is a British businessman, and serial non-executive director and chairman, known for his contributions to the travel and tourism industries. He is the former president and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council.
