Former ADEA Executive Secretary Ahlin Byll-Cataria is knighted by Niger

Published on Thursday, 13 February 2014

Mr. Byll-Cataria was decorated with the grade of Knight in the Order of Academic Palms of Niger.

The decision of President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger was rendered official by an executive order dated December 26, 2013. The decoration of Mr. Byll-Cataria is an exceptional honor awarded in recognition of his “significant contribution to the development of higher education” in the country.

Mr. Byll-Cataria worked in Niger from 1979 to 1990. For seven of these years, he served as a trainer at the Literacy Officers’ Training Center, and for three years as deputy to the representative of the Swiss cooperation agency DDC. He subsequently worked for DDC in Bern, where he was the Niger program officer from 1991 to 1995.

Mr. Byll-Cataria served as Executive Secretary of ADEA from August 2008 to September 2013. He was also Chair of ADEA from 2001 to 2006.