Biographical Note

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS AHMEDOU OULD-ABDALLAH OF MAURITANIA

 

AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR SOMALIA

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah of Mauritania as his Special Representative for Somalia.  From 2002 to August 2007, Mr. Ould-Abdallah served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in West Africa and as Chairman of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, established for the peaceful implementation of the international Court of Justice decision on the territorial dispute between the two countries.

From 1996 to 2002, Mr. Ould-Abdallah was the Executive Secretary of the Global Coalition for Africa, the Washington-based intergovernmental forum dedicated to addressing African issues.

Mr. Ould-Abdallah joined the United Nations as a Senior Political and Economic Adviser and served the Organization from 1985 to 1996 in a number of capacities, including as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Burundi and Special Coordinator for New and Renewable Sources of Energy and Energy Issues.

From 1971 to 1985, Mr. Ould-Abdallah held in his native country high-level positions as a cabinet member including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation.  He was also ambassador to the United States and to the European Union.

Mr. Ould-Abdallah has been member of the board of a number of non-governmental organizations, academia and other organizations.  He has written extensively on democracy, conflicts and human rights issues.  His book Burundi in the Brink was published by the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) in 2000.

Born in 1940, Mr. Ould-Abdallah is married and has a son.

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