Secretary-General Appoints El Ghassim Wane of Mauritania Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of El Ghassim Wane of Mauritania as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.  He will succeed Edmond Mulet of Guatemala, whom the Secretary-General has appointed as his Chef de Cabinet.  The Secretary-General reiterates his deep gratitude and appreciation for Mr. Mulet’s dedicated service in his former position.

Mr. Wane brings extensive experience on peace and security issues and conflict resolution, particularly in Africa, in partnership with international and regional organizations at a time when United Nations peacekeeping has reached a historic high in terms of deployment levels of civilian and uniformed personnel, and complexity of mandates.

As Director of the Peace and Security Department at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa since 2009, Mr. Wane has discharged that function at a time when the cooperation and partnership between the United Nations and the African Union on peace and security issues in Africa has been deepening and expanding.

Between 1994 and 2009, he held a series of senior positions relating to peace and security in the African Union and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity.  They included Head of the Conflict Management Division, Senior Political Officer, Deputy Head of the Conflict Management Centre, Political Officer at the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Humanitarian Affairs Division, and Spokesperson of the African Union on peace and security issues.

Born in 1959, Mr. Wane holds Master’s degrees in public law and international and European studies from the Universities of Dakar, in Senegal, and Lille II, in France, respectively.