Secretary-General Appoints Imran Riza of Pakistan United Nations Resident Coordinator in Syria

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Imran Riza of Pakistan as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Syria, with the host Government’s approval.  Mr. Riza will also serve as United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator.

Mr. Imran Riza brings over 30 years of international experience across the United Nations system, mainly in field settings.  For the past five years, he was in Lebanon as Deputy Head of Mission of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and Director of the Division of Political Affairs, Civil Affairs and Strategic Communications.  Prior to joining UNIFIL, he served as the Regional Representative for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and the UNHCR Representative for Jordan.  Mr. Riza has also held positions with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome and as Senior Adviser to the Personal Representative of the Secretary‑General, and later to the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon.  With UNHCR, he has also served at Geneva Headquarters and in Sudan, Hong Kong, and Viet Nam.

He holds a master’s degree in social and cultural anthropology from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, and a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from McGill University in Canada.