Biography
Prof. Mehari Taddele Maru is currently a Part-time Professor at the School of Transnational Governance and Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute.
Prof. Mehari is also a Fellow at the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), Bruges. A graduate of Harvard and Oxford universities, he holds a Ph.D. in Legal Sciences from JL Giessen University, Germany, an MPA from Harvard, an MSc from the University of Oxford, and an LLB from Addis Ababa University.
Prof. Mehari is a member of the Technical Committee of the Tana High-Level Security Forum, and worked as Programme Coordinator for the African Union Migration Programme and Legal Expert at the African Union Commission (AUC). Prof Mehari also served as Chief Strategist, Legal Drafter, and Lead Migration Expert in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
He served as Programme Head for Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and as Director for University Reform at Addis Ababa University and has been a member of the university's Senate and Policy Committee.
He also served as a resource person to various international bodies and organisations, including the UN Economic Commission for Africa on Transboundary Resources; the IGAD-UN High-Level Dialogue; and the Life and Peace Institute in Uppsala. He was also the Africa expert member for the review of the Africa-EU Partnership on Migration, Mobility, and Employment as well as Higher Education.
At the AU, Prof. Mehari drafted various policy blueprints on migration, peace and security, governance, and humanitarian effectiveness. Similarly, he drafted the IGAD State of the Region Report, the IGAD Peace and Security Strategy 2020, and the State of Peace and Security of IGAD Region. He also drafted the IGAD Free Movement of Persons Protocol, the Strategy for South Sudan Mediation, the Common African Position on Global Compact on Migration, and AU Border Governance Strategy. In recognition of his expertise, he has been invited to make presentations to decision-making and policy organs of the UN, the AU, and RECs.
Prof. Mehari is a critic and commentator on various regional and international issues. He has also published books and many articles in international and African journals.