New Permanent Observer of Economic Community of West African States Presents Letter of Appointment

(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service)

The new Permanent Observer of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the United Nations, Tanou Koné, presented his letter of appointment to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today.

In the course of a diplomatic career that began in 1983, Mr. Koné served most recently as Minister Counsellor and Deputy High Commissioner of Côte d’Ivoire at its Embassy in Nigeria and Benin, since 2007.  From 2005 to 2006, he held the post of Deputy Director of Documentations and Archives at the Côte d’Ivoire Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He served in various other capacities in the Ministry, beginning in 2003, including as Senior Officer in the Departments of the Ivorians Abroad and of International Economic Relations.  Prior to that, he held positions in his country’s embassies in Tunisia and Algeria.  From 1983 to 1987, he headed the Department at the Directorate of Foreign Trade in the Ministry of Commerce.

Mr. Koné holds a Master of Business and Public Administration degree from Southeastern University in Washington, D.C., and a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from the University of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Born on 4 March 1955, Mr. Koné is married with four children.