SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS YASUSHI AKASHI TO HEAD HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS, JIN YONGJIAN TO DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES POST

8 February 1996

Press Release
SG/A/619

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS YASUSHI AKASHI TO HEAD HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS, JIN YONGJIAN TO DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES POST

19960208 Ismat Kittani to Return to Office of Secretary-General as Special Adviser; Kofi Annan Resumes Direction of Peace-Keeping Operations on 1 March

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has decided to appoint Yasushi Akashi as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, effective 1 March. Mr. Akashi will succeed Peter Hansen who was recently appointed Commissioner- General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Mr. Akashi is currently serving as Special Adviser to the Secretary- General. He has had a long and distinguished international career, including as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Former Yugoslavia, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Cambodia, Under-Secretary- General for Disarmament Affairs, and Under-Secretary-General for Public Information. Previously, Mr. Akashi served as Ambassador in the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, and as a member of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). The Secretary-General has also decided to appoint Ambassador Jin Yongjian as Under-Secretary-General for Development Support and Management Services, effective 15 March. Mr. Jin replaces Ji Chaozhu who will return to national service, after occupying some of the highest positions in the United Nations in the development sector. Mr. Jin has just completed his term as Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations in Geneva, and other international organizations in Switzerland. His international career, spanning over 40 years, has provided Mr. Jin with deep experience in the work of the United Nations system, including in the economic and social field, and in the management of development cooperation. Previous positions in the diplomatic service of his country have included Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Deputy Representative to the Security Council, Director-General of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences, and Director-General of the Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. Effective 1 March, Under-Secretary-General Ismat Kittani will return to the Office of the Secretary-General as Special Adviser. Kofi Annan will resume his functions as Under-Secretary-General for Peace-Keeping Operations at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

* *** *