Secretary-General Appoints Edward Chaiban of Lebanon Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Edward Chaiban of Lebanon as Assistant Secretary-General to serve as the Deputy Executive Director, Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  He will succeed Fayaz King of Zimbabwe, to whom the Secretary-General and UNICEF are grateful for his dedicated service.

Mr. Chaiban recently served as UNICEF’s Global Lead Coordinator for COVID-19 Vaccine Country-Readiness and Delivery.  Prior to this role, he held various leadership positions in UNICEF, including Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa; Director of Programmes; Director of Emergency Programmes; Representative in Ethiopia, Sudan and Sri Lanka; Regional Emergency Adviser for Eastern and Southern Africa; and Deputy Chief of Operations for Operation Lifeline Sudan.

Before joining UNICEF in 1997, Mr. Chaiban was the Country Representative for Catholic Relief Services in Haiti, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan.  He also worked as a Programme Manager with Catholic Relief Services, focusing on food security and child survival.

Mr. Chaiban holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and Political science from Tufts University and a master’s degree in development and Arab studies from Georgetown University, both in the United States.  He is fluent in English, French and Arabic.

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* This supersedes Press Release SG/A/2098 of 17 February 2022.