New York, 30 October 2013 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Fatiha Serour (Algeria) as his Deputy Special Representative for Somalia. The Secretary-General extends his sincere thanks to Peter De Clercq of the Netherlands who served as Deputy Special Representative since the establishment of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), and was recently appointed Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

Ms. Serour is currently Director of “Serour Associates for Inclusion and Equity”, an association focused on supporting inclusive approaches to economic development. She previously served in senior advisory positions with the Department of Social and Economic Affairs (2000-2001 and 2003-2006), the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) from 2001-2002 and as Director for Youth at the Commonwealth Secretariat (2006-2010).

In her most recent position as Regional Director for Europe, North Africa and the Middle East at the United Nations Office for Project Services from 2010-2012, she led national and international teams to implement projects for the United Nations system, international financial institutions, governments and other partners in world aid.

Dr. Serour holds a Ph.D. in Development Strategies for Africa from the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Lille, France. She is fluent in English, French and Arabic.