Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Nicholas Haysom of South Africa

 

Special Representative for Afghanistan

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Nicholas Haysom of South Africa as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Mr. Haysom will succeed Jan Kubiš of Slovakia to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and leadership of UNAMA.

Mr. Haysom, a lawyer with a long international career, has focused on democratic governance, constitutional and electoral reforms, reconciliation and peace processes, including most recently as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of UNAMA since 2012.

Prior that, he held several positions with the United Nations, as well as with the Government of the Republic of South Africa, including Director for Political, Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General from 2007 to 2012.

He also served as Head of the Office of Constitutional Support for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) from 2005 to 2007, and Chief Legal and Constitutional Adviser in the Office of the President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela from 1994 to 1999.  Most notably, Mr. Haysom was involved in the Burundi Peace Talks as chair of the committee negotiating constitutional issues, from 1999 to 2002, and was the principal adviser to the Mediator in the Sudanese Peace Process from 2002 to 2005.

Mr. Haysom earned a degree in law from the Universities of Natal and Cape Town, South Africa.  In 2012, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Cape Town.

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

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*     This supersedes Press Releases SG/A/1335-AFG/382 of 8 March 2012 and SG/A/1065-BIO/3874 of 16 May 2007.

For information media • not an official record