Prof Eddy Maloka is a diplomat by occupation, an academic by training, an experienced expert on foreign policy and a dedicated senior public servant. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) for eight years, between February 2016 and May 2024. During an illustrious career spanning over 30 years, he has served in various senior positions in the South African government, including as Special Advisor to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation; South Africa’s Special Representative to the Great Lakes Region; and Special Advisor to the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa.

Prof Maloka was involved in various initiatives with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). Has also participated in key African Union technical assignments including standing as an expert to the High-Level Debate on the “Union Government”, a member of the team that conducted the “Audit of the African Union”, and as part of the technical contingent who initiated the New Partnership for Africa’s Programme (NEPAD).

An accomplished academic and researcher, he holds a PhD in History from the University of Cape Town, and a Master’s Degree from the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. He has published widely on African affairs and South African politics and history.

His published works include the poetry anthology Nuremberg Witness (1996) and: “When Foreign Becomes Domestic: The Interplay of National Interests, Pan-Africanism and Internationalism in South Africa’s Foreign Policy” (2019), and “Friends of the Natives: The Inconvenient Past of South African Liberalism” (2014). He has been awarded two literary prizes – one in 1991 (the Maskew Miller Longman Africa Children Award with the novel The Jungle of Honour); and the other in 1986 (First Prize in the African Writers’ Association Poetry Competition).