Kamissa Camara is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Oxford. She is also a Senior Africa Advisor at the United States Institute of Peace. Until August 2020, she was Minister, Chief of Staff to the President of Mali, after holding the positions of Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Minister of Digital Economy and Planning of Mali.

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An expert in African politics focused on the Sahel and West Africa; she is the Sahel Strategy Forum (SSF) founder. This platform aims to enlighten public opinion on the complexities of governance in the Sahel region, making various voices heard from the ground to the United States.

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Born and raised in France by Malian parents, Kamissa Camara studied in France before pursuing an international politics career in the United States.

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For years, African politics, democracy, security, and good governance were the essence of her reflections and publications. Kamissa Camara helped the West understand African politics by building political and intellectual bridges between sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and the United States. Her outstanding contribution helped enrich Western countries' foreign policy with African accents.

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She regularly participated as a guest speaker on panels at the U.S. Congress, American, French and African think tanks and universities. She was also a regular guest on TV and radio programs, including CNN, Aljazeera, BBC Africa (radio and TV programs), Voice of America (French and English TV), I24News, France24, TV5, TRT World, RFI, etc.

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Kamissa Camara holds a Master's degree in International Development Economics from Pierre Mendès France University (Grenoble, France) and a B.A. in English and German applied to International Relations from Denis Diderot University (Paris, France). She also obtained a certificate of studies at the School of International Studies & Politics (HEI - HEP) of Paris.