The African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) program, formerly the APN and Next Gen of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), mourns the passing of Professor Fantu Cheru, pioneer Chairman, and founding member of the APN Advisory Board and Selection Committee.
Professor Cheru obtained his PhD in Political Economy and Urban Planning from Portland State University in 1983. He went on to serve as Professor of African and Development Studies, at the American University School of International Service, Washington DC from 1984 to 2007, followed by his appointment as the Research Director at the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI), Uppsala, Sweden, where between 2007 and 2012, he led the transformation of the Institute’s research profile, in addition to launching his personal research initiatives on “Emerging Powers and Africa” and Diaspora, remittances and development.” He subsequently served as a Senior Researcher at the Africa Studies Center (ASC) in Leiden, the Netherlands, Associate Senior Fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and Professor-in-Practice at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. An intellectual giant, profound thinker, and prolific policy-engaged scholar, Fantu Cheru published extensively and strived to align his scholarship with a radical shift in African development policy and practice. He published widely on global political economy, political economy of Africa, international development, comparative regional politics, globalization, trade and development, and conflict, democracy, and transformation. Prof. Cheru advised international development agencies, multilateral and regional organizations, including the United Nations (UN), on these issues, serving as a member of several high-level UN missions and an advisor to several African governments. His more recent research focused on Globalization and development, Africa, and the emerging powers (China, India, and Brazil), African development in the 21st Century, and economic development in Ethiopia.
In addition to his outstanding academic leadership, Professor Cheru served as a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Panel on Mobilizing International Support for the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) (2004 – 2006), and the UN Special Rapporteur on Foreign Debt and Structural Adjustment Programs, Commission on Human Rights (1998 – 2001), and contributed his expertise to the editorial boards of South African Journal of International Affairs, Journal of Peace and Development, Globalization, Development Southern Africa, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Review of African Political Economy. Prof. Cheru was a member of several international professional associations, including the African Studies Association (ASA) of the United States, International Studies Association (ISA), World Economic Association (WEA), American Political Science Association (APSA), and the Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA).
As a pioneering chair of the APN advisory board, Fantu Cheru’s leadership successfully laid the foundation and set the standard for an impactful fellowship program. He contributed immensely to the direction, vision, and capacity of the program to support the emergence of a thriving community of African peacebuilding and development scholars. His unwavering commitment, integrity, passion, and mentorship were central to the APN’s vision of advancing African-led research, bridging the research-policy divide, and amplifying African perspectives in global debates on peacebuilding, development, and security. These later contributed to the establishment of the APDD as a leading program for knowledge production, dissemination, and policy engagement.
Professor Cheru will be remembered as an African intellectual colossus and for his profound and seminal ideas on development, astute mentorship, integrity, and unwavering dedication to African transformation. His passing is a profound loss to the APDD, the African scholarly community, and the broader field of development and peace studies.
We extend our deepest condolences to his family, colleagues, mentees, and all who were touched by his brilliance, simplicity, great sense of humor, and commitment to the African revolution. Fantu Cheru’s legacy endures in his transformative scholarship, the friendships he forged across the world, and his love for humanity.
