Biographical Note

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS CHARLES PETRIE OF FRANCE

 

DEPUTY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR SOMALIA

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Charles Petrie of France as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Deputy Head of the United Nations Political Office in Somalia (UNPOS).

Mr. Petrie brings to this job 18 years of extensive experience, during which he has carried out policy, operational and developmental activities with the United Nations in various postings, including in Somalia and in several other conflict settings in Africa.

He has served as the Chief of the United Nations Emergency Unit in Sudan, as a Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer in Somalia and as the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator in Rwanda.  He served as the Special Assistant to the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza, as the Senior Humanitarian Adviser in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and as the Director of Policy and Planning for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).  Mr. Petrie was also the Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Myanmar until December 2007.

In his current function as Special Adviser to the Department of Political Affairs and UNDP, he has provided support and advice for the United Nations efforts in ongoing conflicts and countries undergoing transitional changes.

Mr. Petrie earned a Bachelor of Arts in international relations at the American College in Paris and a Master of Business Administration at INSEAD.

He was born on 16 September 1959 and has three sons

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