Biographical Note

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Yuri Fedotov (Russian Federation) as the new Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). He succeeds Antonio Maria Costa in that position and as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV). The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Costa for the services he has rendered to the Organization and for his commitment in leading UNODC since 2002.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Shigeru Mochida of Japan as his Deputy Special Representative for Security Sector Support and Rule of Law for the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). He succeeds the late Takahisa Kawakami, also of Japan, who passed away on 15 March.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is pleased to announce the appointment of David Smith as Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Francisco Dall’Anese Ruiz of Costa Rica to head the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Mr. Dall’Anese will replace outgoing Commissioner Carlos Castresana, who announced his resignation on 7 June.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Joan Elise Dubinsky, a national of the United States, as Director of the Ethics Office. She succeeds Robert Benson of Canada, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service to the Organization and his experience and advice on ethics matters.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Major General Moses Bisong Obi of Nigeria as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Roger A. Meece of the United States as his Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Mr. Meece will succeed Alan Doss of the United Kingdom.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Augustine P. Mahigaof the United Republic of Tanzania as his Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS). Mr. Mahiga replaces Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah ( Mauritania) who has served in the position from September 2007.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Youssef Mahmoud of Tunisia as his Special Representative for the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad, effective from 1 June 2010.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is pleased to announce the appointment of Mari Yamashita as Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Tokyo, Japan. She will assume her new duties in mid-July.