Biographical Note

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS KARIN LANDGREN (SWEDEN) AS HIS REPRESENTATIVE IN NEPAL

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Karin Landgren of Sweden as his Representative in Nepal and Head of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN).

Ms. Landgren will head the Mission after the departure of Ian Martin and the adoption of Security Council resolution 1864 (2009).  She has served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Nepal since September 2008 and has had many years of political, managerial and international law experience with the United Nations.

She was the country representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to Eritrea, Singapore and Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Her service with UNHCR also included postings in India and the Philippines, and as the Chief of Standards and Legal Advice.  She was UNICEF’s Head of Child Protection for many years.  She brings added value as the Representative of the Secretary-General with her diverse experience at Headquarters and the field, in addition to her work as Deputy Special Representative in Nepal.

Ms Landgren is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and has published and lectured widely on humanitarian, refugee and child‑protection issues.  She has a Bachelor of Science (Economics) in international relations and a Master of Laws in international law from the London School of Economics.

Born on 13 October 1957, she has two children.

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*     This supersedes Press Release SG/A/1158-BIO/4030 of 11 September 2008.

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