Secretary-General Appoints Cristina Gallach of Spain Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Cristina Gallach of Spain as Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.  She succeeds Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal of Austria to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his commitment and dedicated service to the Organization.  The Secretary-General would also like to thank Maher Nasser for his professional and effective work as Acting Head of the Department of Public Information in recent months.

Ms. Gallach brings to the position a wealth of experience in communication, information, public diplomacy, international affairs and security policy, combined with transformational leadership and hands-on management expertise.  She is also an experienced newspaper, radio and television journalist.

Ms. Gallach is currently Head of the Public Relations Unit in the Council of the European Union, Directorate General for Information and Communication, Brussels, since July 2010.  Prior to that appointment, she was Spokesperson of the Spanish Government for the European Union rotating Presidency (2010), Spokesperson and Chief Media Advisor of the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Brussels (1999-2009) and Deputy Spokesperson of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Chief Media Adviser for the Secretary-General, Brussels (1996-1999).  She spent over 15 years as a journalist, during which time she held the positions of Senior Correspondent of the Spanish News Agency, EFE, in Brussels (1993-1996) and in Moscow (1990-1992), Correspondent with El Periodico, Barcelona (1986-1990), United States Correspondent for Avui (1984-1986) and Reporter with TVE Barcelona (1983-1984).

Ms. Gallach holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, New York, and a degree in communication and journalism from the Universidad Autonoma, Barcelona.

Born in 1960 in Barcelona, she is married with two children.