Grant Kippen
Chief of Party, Yemen
Grant Kippen currently serves as the Chief of Party for Yemen. Kippen brings over 30 years of experience in electoral politics and democracy building to IFES. In Canada, Kippen worked within the Prime Minister’s Office as an advisor to a federal Cabinet Minister, a special assistant to a Member of Parliament and as the director of organization for a national political party. He has published articles on e-democracy, electoral financing within post-conflict countries, the impact of information technology on electoral campaigns and elections and democracy in Afghanistan. He recently coauthored a chapter on approaches to voter education and the role of civil society in the IFES’ Guidelines for Understanding, Adjudicating and Resolving Disputes in Elections (GUARDE).
Internationally, Grant has worked in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Georgia, Jordan (in support of the 2005 Iraq elections), Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Kosovo, Libya, Moldova, Nepal, Pakistan, Sudan, Timor Leste, Ukraine and Yemen. He has been employed by the United Nations, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), International Organization of Migration (IOM), Elections Canada and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. He was the Chairman of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) in Afghanistan for the 2009 Presidential and Provincial Council elections and the 2005 Wolesi Jirga and Provincial Council elections.
Kippen has a bachelor's degree from The University of Western Ontario and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Ottawa. He is a fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada.