Biographical Note

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS DAMIAN ONSÉS-CARDONA OF SPAIN DIRECTOR

OF UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION CENTRE IN BOGOTA, COLOMBIA

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is pleased to announce the appointment of Damian Onsés-Cardona, a national of Spain, as Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Bogota, Colombia.  He took up his duties on 1 August.

Since September 2004, Mr. Onsés-Cardona has been serving as the Spokesperson for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).  From May 2002 until August 2004, he was the Director of International Relations with the UNESCO-sponsored Universal Forum of Cultures Barcelona 2004.

Prior to this, from January 2000 until May 2002, he served as the Middle East Regional Director for Foundation FPSC, the leading Spanish non-governmental organization in the region.  He also served as the Middle East Regional Development and Information Delegate for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from December 1996 until November 1999. 

Mr. Onsés-Cardona has extensive United Nations mission experience; in addition to his current job with MINUSTAH, he has also served as a Civil Affairs Officer for the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) (1996) and as a Human Rights Observer with the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) (1995).  He was also an Electoral Observer in South Africa and Mozambique in April and November 2004, respectively.

He also served as the West Africa Regional Development and Information Delegate for the Spanish Red Cross from September 1992 until January 1994.

Mr. Onsés-Cardona has a master’s degree in political science and international relations from the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain, as well as a diploma in political studies from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Grenoble, France.

He is married and the father of three children.

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For information media • not an official record