Secretary-General Appoints Mahamat Saleh Annadif of Chad Special Representative for Mali

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Mahamat Saleh Annadif of Chad as his Special Representative for Mali and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

Mr. Annadif succeeds Mongi Hamdi of Tunisia, who will complete his assignment on 14 January 2016.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Hamdi’s dedicated service and effective leadership at the helm of MINUSMA.

Mr. Annadif brings to this position extensive national and international experience.  He served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Chad from 1997 to 2003, Chief of Staff to the President from 2004 to 2006 and Secretary-General to the Presidency from 2010 to 2012.  He also served as Permanent Representative of the African Union Commission to the European Union from 2006 to 2010.  In the course of his career, he took part in several peace processes in Africa, including in Niger, the Central African Republic and Sudan.  From 2012 to 2014, he was the African Union Special Representative and Head of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Mr. Annadif holds an engineering degree in telecommunications from the Polytechnic School of Madagascar.  Born in 1956, he is married and has six children.