Secretary-General Appoints Robert Piper of Australia Deputy Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Robert Piper of Australia as Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, at the level of Assistant Secretary-General.  Mr. Piper will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Mr. Piper will succeed James Rawley of the United States to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his distinguished service and in particular for his dedicated contribution to Gaza’s reconstruction efforts.

Mr. Piper brings over 25 years of humanitarian and development experience with the United Nations, leading efforts in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and disaster risk reduction in a number of complex situations.  He has been serving as the United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel region since 2013.

From 2008 to 2013, he was United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for Nepal.  He played a similar role leading the United Nations system in Kosovo from 2002 to 2004.  Mr. Piper has held a number of other key posts with UNDP at Headquarters and in the field, including as inaugural Director for the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund and as Deputy Director for Emergency Response.

Mr. Piper has a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honours in political science, from the Australian National University.  He was a Yale University World Fellow in 2004.

Born in 1966, he is married and has four children.