Secretary-General Appoints Christine Schraner Burgener of Switzerland as Special Envoy on Myanmar

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Christine Schraner Burgener of Switzerland as his new Special Envoy on Myanmar.

Ms. Burgener brings over 25 years of experience in diplomacy, having served in various high-level Government positions in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.  Until her appointment, Ms. Burgener was the Ambassador of Switzerland to Germany since 2015.  From 2009 to 2015, she served as Ambassador to Thailand and led efforts to mediate between the two sides in the violence that erupted in Thailand in 2010.

Ms. Burgener has also served as Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Law, with the rank of Ambassador, and Head of the International Law, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Division in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2009.  Simultaneously, she served as the Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism on Foreign Policy and as the Secretary‑General of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission.

Born in Meiringen, Switzerland, in 1963, Ms. Burgener holds a law degree from the University of Zürich.