Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Jack Lang of France Special Adviser

 

on Legal Issues Related to Piracy off Coast of Somalia

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Jack Lang of France as Special Adviser on Legal Issues related to Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.

Mr. Lang is a professor of public law and has extensive experience as a national and international policymaker.  He has been elected as a deputy of the National Assembly of France and as a member of the European Parliament.  He was the special envoy of the President of France to Cuba in February 2009 and to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in November 2009.  He has previously served as Minister of Culture and Education and as President of the foreign affairs committee of the National Assembly.

In addition to his political career, Mr. Lang has also served in a number of academic legal posts.  He holds a degree from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris [Paris Institute of Political Studies] and a postgraduate degree in public law.  Mr. Lang was born on 2 September 1939.

The international community, including the Security Council, has clearly emphasized the need to achieve and sustain substantive results in combating the scourge of piracy.  The human, commercial and security threats posed by piracy are enormous and widespread.

The Secretary-General has requested Mr. Lang to:  identify any additional steps that can be taken to assist States in the region, as well as other States, to prosecute and imprison persons who engage in piracy; and explore the willingness of States in the region to serve as potential host for any of the options for potential new judicial mechanisms set out in the report of the Secretary-General prepared pursuant to Security Council resolution 1918 (2010).

Mr. Lang will coordinate closely with the Office of Legal Affairs and the Department for Political Affairs.

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For information media • not an official record