UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has approved the appointment of Peter de Clercq of the Netherlands as his Deputy Special Representative for the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).
Ban in a statement on Thursday in New York, said de Clercq would also serve as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative.
According to the statement, de Clercq will succeed Philippe Lazzarini of Switzerland, who will shortly leave his post to join the office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL).
The Secretary-General thanked Lazzarini for his dedication and service in Somalia.
He hopes de Clercq will bring to the position, his experience in managing political processes, security sector development, operations and emergency management, among others.
He said de Clercq’s most recent assignment was Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
Prior to that, he served as Senior Adviser to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Deputy Special Representative for Somalia for the United Nations Political Office for Somalia.
In previous years, de Clercq served as UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator and interim in Sudan and worked with the UN High Commission for Refugees for 27 years.
de Clercq holds a master’s degree in development sociology from University of Tilburg in the Netherlands and is a graduate of the Netherland’s Institute for International Affairs “Clingendael” at The Hague. (NAN)
