Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Michele Zaccheo As Director

of United Nations Information Centre in Jakarta

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Michele Zaccheo as Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Jakarta, Indonesia.  He took up his new duties on Friday, 23 October 2009.

Mr. Zaccheo, a national of Italy, most recently held the position of Senior Television Producer for United Nations Television.  In this capacity, he garnered a number of awards for his productions on United Nations priority issues around the world (including Best News Reporting from CNN World Report for his coverage of the 2005 disaster relief efforts in Aceh, Indonesia).  He was instrumental in the development of the successful UNTV news magazine 21^st Century, and his work has included producing and reporting for current affairs programs, news stories, public service announcements and outreach campaigns.

Since joining the United Nations, Mr. Zaccheo has served in two peacekeeping missions:  the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), where he was the Chief of Video and Photo/Production Manager (2000-2001), and the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), where he worked as a Producer (1999).  His experience in the Department of Public Information also includes working as Special Assistant to the Director of the News and Media Division.

Prior to joining the United Nations in 1994, Mr. Zaccheo was a lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism.  He also spent several years as a documentary filmmaker, producer and videographer, both in Italy and in the United States.  His clients included PBS, ABC, NHK Educational TV, Channel 4, RTE, RAI, Adnkronos and Deutsche Welle.

Mr. Zaccheo holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in history from Cornell University.  He did post-graduate studies in philosophy at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris.

Born in Sweden in 1961, Mr. Zaccheo has traveled widely in South-East Asia, acquiring a functional knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia.  His other languages are Italian, English, French, Spanish and Swedish.  He is married and has two children.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record