Biographical Note

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS DAVID Shearer Of New ZeAland

 

DEPUTY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR IRAQ

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of David Shearer of New Zealand as his Deputy Special Representative (Humanitarian, Reconstruction and Development) for Iraq, replacing Jean-Marie Fakhouri.  Mr. Shearer will also serve as the United Nations Resident Coordinator, as well as the Humanitarian Coordinator, in Iraq.

Mr. Shearer has many years of experience leading humanitarian operations for the United Nations, as well as years of service with non-governmental organizations and the New Zealand Government.  Since February 2003, he has been the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Jerusalem.  Mr. Shearer also served as the Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon during the conflict from July to October 2006.  In this capacity he provided leadership and strategic direction, with the country team, in support of the 900,000 people displaced during the conflict.

Before these postings, Mr. Shearer was a Senior Adviser to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in 2002 and an Adviser to the New Zealand Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2000 to 2002.  He was the Chief of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Belgrade in 1999, Senior Humanitarian Adviser in Albania in 1999, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the United Nations in Rwanda in 1999 and the United Nations’ Senior Humanitarian Affairs Adviser in Liberia in 1995.

In addition, Mr. Shearer has conducted various assignments with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Save the Children Fund, and the International Crisis Group, and is the author of numerous publications in the areas of humanitarian affairs and conflict resolution.

Mr. Shearer is married with two children.

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For information media • not an official record