UNRIC MAGAZINE July Edition 2009

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.   He will replace Jordan Ryan, who is now Assistant Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery. The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Ryan's outstanding performance and leadership that greatly contributed to improved coordination and integration of the entire United Nations system in Liberia.

Mr. Soumaré will bring with him a wealth of development and leadership experience. He is currently Deputy Assistant Administrator of UNDP and Deputy Regional Director for the Regional Bureau for Africa in New York.

Prior to that appointment, Mr. Soumaré served as Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Rwanda from 2005 to 2007, and held a similar position in Benin between 2000 and 2005.

He also has extensive project and development experience from UNDP Drylands Development Centre (formerly UNSO). Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Soumaré held positions in the Ministry of Rural Development and the Department of Forestry in Bamako, Mali.

Born in 1952, Mr. Soumaré holds a doctorate in soil and water conservation from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He is married and has three children.

News source: United Nations