Christine Ouinsavi

Christine Ouinsavi
Occupation(s)	Researcher, politician, professor
Years active	2007–present
Known for	UNESCO-L’ORÉAL International fellowship (2007), Minister of Primary Education, Literacy, and National Languages (Benin)

Christine Ouinsavi is a Beninese researcher specializing in forest biology and a political figure, honored in 2007 with the prestigious UNESCO-L’ORÉAL International fellowship dedicated to women in scientific fields. By June 2017, she held the ministerial portfolio for Primary Education, Literacy, and National Languages in Benin.

Biography

Ouinsavi was selected in 2007 as one of fifteen promising young female scientists in life sciences to receive the UNESCO-L’ORÉAL fellowship, being among three awardees representing Africa. Her scientific investigations took place at the Laval Forest Study Centre of Université Laval in Québec, Canada, where she examined the sustainable management of forest plant species crucial to the livelihoods of rural communities in Benin.

During Dr. Boni Yayi's administration, she was appointed as minister responsible for Primary Education, Literacy, and National Languages.

In 2017, she achieved her doctoral degree in agricultural sciences and became the first woman to be appointed full professor at the University of Parakou. Her academic career at this university began in 2009 when she joined as an assistant professor after earning a master's degree in agronomic engineering.