Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia Under-Secretary-General

for General Assembly and Conference Management

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia as Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, replacing Jean-Jacques Graisse of Belgium, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for having served as Acting Head of Department with dedication and able leadership.

Mr. Gettu, who has been the Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Bureau Director for Africa in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2009, has more than 30 years of increasingly responsible management experience in the development field, at both the national and international levels, having worked in academia, Government and the private sector.  He brings to his new position analytical skills and proven operational capacity, on the ground and at Headquarters, to manage complex organizational structures and effectively to lead large departments in challenging environments.

He notably served as Chief of Staff and Director of UNDP’s Executive Office in New York, and was United Nations Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria until 2006.  Before 2003, Mr. Gettu was country director for Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean countries as well as Acting Resident Representative in Liberia and Sierra Leone.  He also served as Senior Economic and Political Adviser at the UNDP Africa Bureau in New York.

During his academic career, Mr. Gettu was a Fellow at Columbia University and Assistant Professor and Lecturer at the University of Rochester in New York.  He also taught at Hunter College and Addis Ababa University.  He also worked as Senior Adviser in Ethiopia’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and in the private sector.

Born in 1952, he is married and has two children.

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For information media • not an official record