Jean-Marie Guéhenno Appointed Deputy Joint Special Envoy of United Nations,

 

League of Arab States on Syria

 

Jean-Marie Guéhenno was today appointed as Deputy Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on Syria.

Along with Mr. Nasser al-Kidwa, Mr. Guéhenno will assist Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan in the exercise of his mandate.  Mr. Guéhenno was United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations from 2000 to 2008, and brings to the position years of diplomatic and academic experience.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Guéhenno was a Professor at Columbia University, and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.  He was also Chairman of the Board of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and has had a distinguished career at the United Nations and the French civil service.

You will recall that on 7 March 2012 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and League of Arab States Secretary General Nabil Elaraby had appointed Nasser al-Kidwa as Deputy Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on Syria, to assist Joint Special Envoy Annan in the exercise of his mandate. 

Mr. Al-Kidwa brings to the position years of diplomatic experience and deep knowledge of the region.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Al-Kidwa served in various functions with the Palestinian National Authority, including as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2006, and Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations from 1991 to 2005.

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For information media • not an official record