Dr Emmanuel Kwesi Aning was born on 22nd April, 1962. He attended the University of Ghana and completed with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Honors Degree in 1986. He proceeded to the University of Copenhagen, Denmark for a Master of Philosophy (Cand. Phil ) in the 1990. He completed a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at the same university in 1998.
Dr Aning has worked with a number of institutions prior to joining the KAIPTC and these have included:
- The Governance Unit, Institute of Economic Affairs, Accra, Ghana where he was Director from 15 July 2000 - 30 June 2001
- African Union Commission, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as an Expert on Common African Defence and Security Policy & Counter-terrorism from 4 July 2005 - 2007
- Center for Security Studies, Accra, Ghana as Senior Fellow from January 2005 – June 2005
- Legon Centre for International Affairs, (LECIA), University of Ghana; and Research Director, African Security Dialogue and Research, Accra from 1 July 2001 – January 2005
- Visiting Professor, European Peace University, Stadtschleining, Austria from May – June 2003
- Institute of Economic Affairs, Governance Unit, Accra, Ghana as Director from 15 July 2000 – 30 June 2001
Dr Kwesi Aning’s rich experience in security issues has been tapped by a number of organizations including the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU),and Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) where he has held the following Non Academic Positions
- Member, Senior Advisory Panel on Haiti and Liberia, UN, January- February 2010
- Leader, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO-UK) team to suggest restructuring of the Conflict Management Division of the Peace and Security Directorate, African Union, October 2008
- Senior Consultant to the Under-Secretary General of the UN Department of Political Affairs, UN Secretariat, NY on drafting a Report of the Secretary-General on the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and security. August – December 2007
Dr Aning has also been an Associate Professor in International Politics for a number of institutions in Denmark, UK, and Nigeria and has taught with the following Universities:
- Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA), Accra, Ghana.
- Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), Teshie, Accra
- Institute of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Aarhus University, Denmark.
Dr. Aning, who has written numerous dissertation and books, monograph and articles in several journals, has also contributed to numerous chapters in a number of books.
He is currently a member of the Economic Forum’s Council on Conflict Resolution. He is married and has two children.