Biographical Note

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Rodney Bent Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Washington, D.C. He assumed his new duties on 26 January.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Major General Paolo Serra of Italy as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Major General Serra will succeed Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas of Spain, who will relinquish his post on 28 January, and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his excellent service and leadership over the past two years.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, a national of Brazil, as Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, at the Assistant Secretary-General level.

The new Permanent Representative of Mauritania to the United Nations, Ahmed Ould Teguedi, today presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The new Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, George Wilfred Talbot, today presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Secretary-General has designated David Scheffer of the United States as the Special Expert to advise on the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials, for an initial period of six months, replacing Clint Williamson, whose term of office expired on 30 September 2011. The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Williamson for his service as Special Expert.

The new Permanent Representative of Republic of Moldova to the United Nations, Vladimir Lupan, today presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva announced today their appointment of Ertharin Cousin (United States) as Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), at the Under-Secretary-General level, in succession to Josette Sheeran. The Executive Board of WFP has confirmed its concurrence with the appointment.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Raisedon Zenenga of Zimbabwe as Deputy Special Representative (Political) in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Derek Plumbly of the United Kingdom as his Special Coordinator for Lebanon.