Before being elected Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene served as chief director for Africa economic relations in South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry. During his tenure as chief negotiator, South Africa ratified both the AfCFTA and Tripartite FTA agreements. Prior to this Mr Mene was the department’s principal legal counsel on international trade law and international investment law. From 2010 to 2015 he represented South Africa at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva and chaired the Committee on International Trade in Financial Services. Before joining the government he worked for law firms in London and Hong Kong.