Secretary-General Appoints Eugene Owusu of Ghana Deputy Special Representative in South Sudan

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Eugene Owusu of Ghana as his Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), where he will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

He will succeed Toby Lanzer of the United Kingdom, who will be taking up the post of Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel region.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Lanzer’s dedicated service with the United Nations in South Sudan.

Mr. Owusu brings to the position extensive experience in international development and humanitarian affairs.  He is currently the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of UNDP in Ethiopia, a position he has held since August 2010.

Prior to that appointment, he served as Senior Adviser in the UNDP Brussels Office.  Mr. Owusu joined UNDP in 1996 and has worked in several capacities in the Africa region, including as Economic Adviser in UNDP Uganda (1996-1999), as Economic Adviser in UNDP Sierra Leone (1999-2002) and as Deputy Resident Representative (Programme) in UNDP Tanzania (2002-2007).  Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Owusu worked for the private sector in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Owusu holds a doctorate degree in agricultural economics from Pennsylvania State University, United States.