Tripoli, 13 September:
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Lebanese . . .[restrict]politician Tarek Mitri as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). He will take over from Ian Martin who completes his term in office on 14 October.
Mitri, an academic, has held several government posts in successive Lebanese governments from 2005 until last year. These have included being minister of administrative reform, environment, foreign affairs, culture and information.
Prior to joining the Lebanese government, he was the Coordinator for Interreligious Relations and Dialogue at the World Council of Churches in Geneva (1991-2005) and Program Director for the Christian-Muslim Dialogue at the Middle East Council of Churches (1984-1991).
Most recently, Mitri has 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.
He has taught at Harvard University, the Amsterdam Free University, the University of Geneva and the University of Balamand in Lebanon. [/restrict]
