Secretary-General Appoints Mongi Hamdi of Tunisia as Special Representative for Mali

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Mongi Hamdi of Tunisia as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

Mr. Hamdi succeeds Albert Gerard Koenders of the Netherlands, who served in this capacity since 2013.  The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Koenders for his dedicated leadership in guiding the early establishment and deployment of MINUSMA.

Mr. Hamdi is currently the Foreign Minister of Tunisia, a position he has held since January 2014.  He brings with him more than 25 years of experience working on trade, economic and social development issues within the United Nations system, including for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

He holds a doctorate degree from the University of Southern California and a certificate in macro-economic policy and management from Harvard University.  He also holds a State engineering degree from the National Engineering School of Tunis.

Born in 1959, he is married and has three children.