UN: UN chief appoints Malian national as deputy envoy for South Sudan

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday announced the appointment of Mr. Moustapha Soumare of Mali as UN Deputy Special Representative (Political) for the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS).

A UN statement made available to PANA in New York, said, Mr. Soumare, would succeed Mr. Raisedon Zenenga of Zimbabwe, who will be taking up the post of UN Deputy Special Representative of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

Ban extended his gratitude to Mr. Zenenga’s dedicated service and outstanding contribution to the work of the UN in the Republic of South Sudan.

The statement noted that Mr. Soumare possessed extensive peace, development and leadership experience.

He is currently the UN Deputy Special Representative at the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), where he also serves as the UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), a position he has held since October 2012.

Prior to this appointment, he was the UN Deputy Special Representative for Recovery and Governance in the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), from 2009 to 2012.

Mr. Soumare had served as UN Deputy Assistant Administrator of the UNDP and Deputy Regional Director for the Regional Bureau for Africa in New York from 2007 to 2009.
-0- PANA AA/MA 24Dec2014