Secretary-General Appoints Peter de Clercq of Netherlands Deputy Special Representative, Resident, Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Peter de Clercq of the Netherlands as his Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), where he will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative.

Mr. de Clercq will succeed Philippe Lazzarini of Switzerland, who will shortly leave his post to join the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL).  The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Lazzarini for his dedication and service in Somalia.

Mr. de Clercq brings to the position solid experience in managing political processes, security sector development, operations and emergency management, protection of civilians and rule of law, as well as mobilization and management of humanitarian and development assistance.  His most recent assignment was that of Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).  Prior to that, he served as Senior Adviser to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Deputy Special Representative for Somalia for the United Nations Political Office for Somalia.

In previous years, Mr. de Clercq served as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim in Sudan and worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for 27 years, during which time he held various positions in its Headquarters in Geneva and Budapest, as well as in field assignments in Angola, Pakistan, Sudan and Zimbabwe.  He was also seconded to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to UNDP in Sudan.

Mr. de Clercq holds a master’s degree in development sociology from the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands and is a graduate of the Netherlands’ Institute for International Affairs “Clingendael” in The Hague.

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*     This supersedes Press Rlease SG/A/1430-BIO/4507-PKO/366 of 12 August 2013.