Biographical Note

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Moustapha Soumaré of Mali as his Deputy Special Representative for Recovery and Governance of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Mr. Soumaré will also serve as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is pleased to announce the appointment of Christopher Woodthorpe as Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Canberra. In addition to Australia, Canberra covers Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Mr. Woodthorpe assumed his new duties on 13 May 2009.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is pleased to announce the appointment of Bahaa Elkoussy as Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut. He assumed his new duties on 18 May 2009.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is pleased to announce the appointment of Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry as Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Pretoria. She will take up her new duties on 16 June 2009.

The new Permanent Representative of Serbia to the United Nations, Feodor Starčević, today presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The new Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations, Federico Alberto Cuello Camilo, today presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA), which is to be succeeded by the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office (BINUCA).

The new Permanent Representative of Tonga to the United Nations, Sonatane Tu’akinamolahi Taumoepeau-Tupou, presented his credentials today to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Robert Watkins of Canada as his Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, where he will also serve as United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator. Mr. Watkins replaces Bo Asplund of Sweden, who will be completing his assignment this summer. The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Asplund for his dedicated service for the past two years.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Franz Baumann of Germany as Assistant Secretary-General, Department for General Assembly and Conference Management. Mr. Baumann will replace Yohannes Mengesha.