United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Ms. Sandra Honoré of Trinidad and Tobago as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (Minustah).

Ms. Honoré, who is expected to take up her functions on 15 July 2013, succeeds Mr. Mariano Fernández Amunátegui of Chile, who completed his assignment on 31 January 2013. The Secretary General is grateful to Mr. Fernández Amunátegui for his determination and leadership of Minustah during a critical period for Haiti with the transition to a new Government and a challenging security situation. The Secretary-General also expresses his gratitude to Mr. Nigel Fisher (Canada) who has provided excellent leadership in the interim.

Ms. Honoré brings with her extensive experience working in multilateral settings, including as Chief of Staff, Office of the Assistant Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) from 2000 to 2005. She had an assignment as Special Assistant to the Chief of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission to Haiti from 1995 to 1996.

A career diplomat since 1979, Ms. Honoré has served her government in many capacities. She was her country’s Ambassador to Costa Rica until August 2012 and she has also held a number of positions in the Foreign Service, including Chief of Protocol in the Foreign Ministry in 2007 and Director of the CARICOM and Caribbean Affairs Division in 2005. Her prior diplomatic experience includes assignments in the United States from 1997 to 2000 and in Brazil from 1983 to 1988. She has also served in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Ms. Honoré is a graduate in Modern Languages from Besançon and Bordeaux Universities (France) and holds diplomas in International Relations from the University of the West Indies (Trinidad and Tobago) and a Post-graduate Diploma in Conference Interpretation from the Polytechnic of Central London.

Born in Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, she is married and has one child.

HL/ HaitiLibre