Tripoli, 18 October:
The new Special Representative of the . . .[restrict]Secretary-General for Libya, Tarek Mitri, has taken up his post in Tripoli, heading the United Nations’ work in Libya. He replaces Ian Martin who finished just over a year in office on 14 October.
“I shall be delighted to be a witness of the historic changes in Libya and committed to accompany them in solidarity with the Libyan people,” Mitri said. “In line with the priorities defined by the Libyan legitimate authorities, the United Nations will continue to build on what has been achieved,” the SRSG added.
UN support teams were closely involved in helping devise and organise July’s elections for the General National Congress. The UN has also been involved in other areas helping Libya in its transition to a functioning democratic state.
Mitri was appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as his Special Representative for Libya and Head of Mission of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on 12 September.
He had previously held several government posts in successive Lebanese governments, from 2005 until last year. These included being minister of administrative reform, environment, foreign affairs, culture and information.
He also taught at Harvard University, the Amsterdam Free University, the University of Geneva and the University of Balamand in Lebanon. Most recently, he headed the UNESCO Chair on Dialogue at Saint Joseph University in Beirut and served as a Senior Fellow at the American University of Beirut, Fares Center for Public Policy and International Affairs. [/restrict]
