Secretary-General Appoints Abdoulaye Mar Dieye of Senegal Special Coordinator for Development in Sahel

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Abdoulaye Mar Dieye of Senegal as the Special Coordinator for development in the Sahel.  Mr. Dieye is a macroeconomist and development expert with strong leadership experience in managing complex development portfolios over the last 35 years.

Through Security Council resolution 2391 (2017) and Economic and Social Council resolution 2020/2, Member States called for strengthening collective and integrated engagement across the Sahel region to arrest the deteriorating situation, recognizing the inter-linked nature of the security, humanitarian and development crises.  The resolutions reaffirmed the centrality of the United Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel and its support plan in providing a comprehensive framework to strengthen governance, security and development in the region.

In response, the Secretary-General is appointing the Special Coordinator who will lead collective efforts, including financing, to implement the United Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel and its support plan for a scaled-up United Nations development response for the Sahel, drawing on all the United Nations assets in the region, engaging and supporting efforts of the Group of Five (G5) Sahel, the Sahel-Alliance, the Ministerial Coordination Platform, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, the European Union, the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

Mr. Dieye is currently Special Adviser to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  He has held several positions in UNDP, including as Assistant Administrator and Director for the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (2018-2019); Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa (2013-2018); Chief of Staff of the Administrator, and Director of the Executive Office (2009-2013); and as Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Regional Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States (2006-2009).  Prior to that, he served as Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Operations in Côte d’Ivoire and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Abidjan.  Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. Dieye held several senior positions within the Government of Senegal.

Mr. Dieye is a graduate of the Ingénieur Statisticien Economiste programme of the Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques, Paris.  He studied advanced and specialized mathematics at Lycée National du Parc, Lyon, and holds a master’s degree in development studies from the Institute of Social Studies, Den Haag.

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* This supersedes Press Release SG/A/1425-BIO/4493-DEV/3012 of 16 July 2013.