SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS TOM KOENIGS OF GERMANY TO SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE POST WITH UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN KOSOVO

Press Release
SG/A/701

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS TOM KOENIGS OF GERMANY TO SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE POST WITH UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN KOSOVO

This is the text of a statement today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General has decided to appoint Tom Koenigs of Germany as the Deputy Special Representative for Civil Administration of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Mr. Koenigs will replace Dominique Vian of France who will returning to his duties with the French Government.

Between 1993 and 1997, Mr. Koenigs was the Treasurer of the City of Frankfurt responsible for the city's billion deutschmark budget. During that period, he focused on systematically increasing the efficiency of public services and modernizing the city's administration. Since 1989, he has been the head of the Environmental Protection Department of the City of Frankfurt and is responsible for, inter alia, environmental protection, sewage management, the fire department and energy supply.

In 1995, together with the now Foreign Minister of Germany, Joschka Fischer, he created and established the first Ministry for Environmental Protection of the German Land of Hessen.

The Secretary-General would like to express his gratitude to the French Government for making available the outgoing Deputy Special Representative, Mr. Vian, at such short notice at the very outset of the mission. He further wishes to express his deep appreciation to Mr. Vian for the excellent work he has done in leading the civil administration pillar of UNMIK under very difficult and challenging circumstances. The Secretary-General wishes Mr. Vian the best in his future responsibilities.

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