Former Slovakian foreign minister named next UN Afghan envoy

Former Slovakian foreign minister named next UN Afghan envoy

2011-11-24 17:13:42 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) has appointed the former Slovakian foreign minister as its next envoy to Afghanistan, succeeding current envoy Staffan de Mistura.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that Jan Kubiš, 59, who has more than three decades of experience in diplomacy, foreign security policy and international economic relations, will be succeeding Staffan de Mistura as his Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Since 2009, Kubiš has been Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and previously served with the Organization in the late 1990s as the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Tajikistan and head of the UN mission of observers to that Central Asian country.

The Slovakian served as his country's foreign minister from 2006 to 2009, and has also had stints as the chairman of the Council of Europe's committee of ministers and as secretary-general of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

At the end of the year, de Mistura will be completing his term which began in March 2010.

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