With much regret, the Mission hereby informs of the demise of Ambassador Timothy Mgbokwere on the 13th of April, 2012.

Ambassador Mgbokwere was Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Nigeria in Austria from 1987 to 1991, and thereafter he served as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Testimonies abound by many who had worked with him that Ambassador Mgbokwere was an amiable, highly principled, dedicated and diligent envoy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

To many career diplomats in the Foreign Ministry, late Ambassador Mgbokwere was a detribalised teacher and leader who left many footprints worthy of emulation. He was a stickler for punctuality a humble and honest person, yet confident official who was active in many fieds of human endeavour. Ambassador Mgbokwere was also a professional and a gentleman to the core. He always insisted that a diplomat must be upright, present facts succintly and refrain from duplicity.

As a retiree, late Ambassador Mgbokwere remained active and committed to the service of Nigeria. He was appointed Director at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos. He was often called upon to train newly appointed Ambassadors and to lend his wealth of experience on international issues to Nigerian delegations to the annual United Nations General Assembly. He was a member of the Special Committee working towards making Nigeria a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council.

Late Ambassador Mgbokwere had that rare gift of enjoying what he did. He walked with kings but never lost the common touch. He had time to pursue his hobby to a high level by establishing a restaurant in Abuja which he ran with etrepeneurial dignity even as he remained engsged in other high quarters. There was never a moment of idleness for this gentleman that lived a resourceful and decent life to the full.

Apart from serving as Ambassador of Nigeria to Austria and Permanent Representative to United Nations in Vienna, Ambassador Timothy Mgbokwere also served as Nigerian Ambassador in Brazil and as officer at the Nigerian Embassies in Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Pakistan among others. At the Headquarters in Nigeria, he served in various capacities, as well as at the Presidency where he was an Assistant Director of State Protocol.

Those who knew him in Vienna at the Embassy/Permanent Mission will always remember his strength of character, his love for Nigeria and the contributions he made to Nigerian-Austrian relations.

Some of the locally recruited staff that worked with him at the Embassy and are still there have nothing but praises for his down to earth considerate nature as a boss that ensured that they were treated with much kindness. Click here to hear what they have to say.