Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Derek Plumbly of United Kingdom

 

Special Coordinator for Lebanon

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Derek Plumbly of the United Kingdom as his Special Coordinator for Lebanon.

He will succeed Michael Williams, also of the United Kingdom, who served in Lebanon from August 2008 to September 2011.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Williams’ service to the United Nations.

One of the United Kingdom’s most senior diplomats, Mr. Plumbly has had a distinguished career in international affairs spanning more than 35 years.  He has held important posts in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office dealing with the Middle East.  Most recently he served from 2008 to 2011 as Chairman of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission charged with monitoring implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan.

Mr. Plumbly was Ambassador to Egypt from 2003 to 2007 and to Saudi Arabia between 2000 and 2003.  He also held the Foreign and Commonwealth Office posts of Director, Middle East and North Africa (1997-2000), and International Drugs Coordinator, Director of Drugs and Crime (1996-1997).  From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Plumbly was Head of Chancery at the United Kingdom’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University.  He is an Arabic speaker.

Born in 1948, Mr. Plumbly is married and has three children.

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