UN Secretary-General Appoints Hiroute Guebre-Selassie of Ethiopia as Special Envoy for Sahel and Head Office

PRESS RELEASE

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Hiroute Guebre Sellassie of Ethiopia as his new Special Envoy for the Sahel and Head of Office.

Ms. Guebre Sellassie succeeds Romano Prodi of Italy, who completed his assignment on 31 January 2014. The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Prodi’s accomplishments in developing the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel and in mobilizing the international community in support of the region.

Ms. Guebre Sellassie brings to the position extensive experience that combines strategic and managerial leadership, operational planning and policy formulation in the area of peace and security in Africa.

She recently served as the Director of the Political Affairs Division and Head of the Goma Regional Office in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) from 2007 to 2014.

Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Guebre Sellassie was Oxfam Regional Peace Building and Conflict Management Advisor for Horn, East and Central Africa. From 1998 to 2004, she was the CEO of the African Women Committee on Peace and Development, established jointly by the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union to serve as an advisory organ on women’s involvement in peace and security issues.

As a law graduate of the University of the Sorbonne in Paris and with many years as a practising lawyer, Ms. Guebre Sellassie has served in different capacities in the Ethiopian Government.

She is married and has three children.

Source: United Nations
Source: UN