New Permanent Observer for International Organization of La Francophonie Presents Letter of Appointment

(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service)

The new Permanent Observer for the International Organization of La Francophonie to the United Nations, Narjess Saidane, presented her letter of appointment to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Ms. Saidane most recently worked for the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People, serving from 2013 to 2017 as Deputy Special Representative of the Administrator based in Jerusalem.

Between 2010 and 2013, Ms. Saidane was Deputy Resident Representative for the Joint Office of UNDP, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Cabo Verde.  She was Deputy Resident Representative in Mauritania from 2006 to 2009, having served in the same capacity in her native Tunisia from 2004 to 2006.

Ms. Saidane served as UNDP’S Resources Mobilization Adviser from 2002 to 2004, having joined the Programme in 2000 as Adviser for Studies and Coordination to the United Nations Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Tunisia.

She held several other positions, including International Relations Officer at Birzeit University in the West Bank from 1993 to 1994, and at the Palestinian Council for Higher Education from 1994 to 1995.

Ms. Saidane holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and African studies from the University of Minnesota in the United States, a master’s degree in political science and Middle Eastern studies from the Institute of Political Studies in Aix-en-Provence, France, and a post-graduate certificate in urban and regional planning from Rutgers University, United States.

She is married and has two children.