Born in Cameroon, Michel Doo-Kingué devoted an important part of his life to the United Nations and to the promotion of democracy and development in the countries of the South and, more specifically, in Africa. He started his career at UNESCO as the head of the Africa Department in 1963. He then became Director of the Division of Relations with International Organizations and Programmes at UNESCO. He served as chief advisor on African Affairs to the Director-General of UNESCO from November 1963 to January 1969.

In 1971, Michel Doo-Kingué was appointed as the first Director of the Regional Office for Africa at UNDP. In this position, he was in charge of planning, financing issues as well as management of all UNDP activities in Africa. In 1983, Michel Doo-Kingué was appointed UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR. He headed the Institute throughout its restructuring period and remained the Institute’s Director until 1992. In 1991, he was a candidate for the post of UN Secretary-General.

Michel Doo-Kingué issued several publications. His most famous work is entitled “What democracy in Africa? An essay”, first published in 1999 in French.