History

Establishment
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established in 1963 after independence, as External Affairs Department under the office of the Prime Minister operating from the then Government House. The Prime Minister was the First Minister for Foreign Affairs in Kenya. The Ministry was later renamed the Ministry of State for Foreign Affairs still under the Office of the President.

Full Ministry
In 1969, the department became a fully fledged Ministry with a first Minister for Foreign Affairs and only three divisions namely ; Political/Economic, Protocol and Administration.

Opening of Missions

Immediately after independence, the Government established Diplomatic Missions in London, Moscow, Bonn (Germany) Peking (currently Beijing), Cairo ,Washington/New York (UN)and Paris. By 1969, other diplomatic missions were established in Addis Ababa, Lusaka, New Delhi and Tokyo.

Expansion of Diplomatic Footprint

From 1978 onwards, more Missions were opened in different parts of the world.

Relocation

The Ministry relocated to the present Headquarters at the Old Treasury building, Harambee Avenue in 1980.

Currently

Currently, the Ministry oversees 70 Diplomatic Missions Abroad, 2 Missions in Nairobi and 30 Honorary Consuls spread across the globe.

The Ministry also serves more than 70 Foreign Diplomatic Missions resident in Nairobi and 148 Inter-Governmental and International Organizations hosted in the country.