United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma announced today the appointment of Jeremiah Nyamane Kingsley Mamabolo of South Africa as Deputy Joint Special Representative for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

Mr. Mamabolo succeeds Abiodun Oluremi Bashua of Nigeria, to whom the Secretary-General and the Commission Chairperson are grateful for his dedicated service during his tenure with UNAMID, including his contribution as acting Head of the Mission.

Mr. Mamabolo brings to the position a wealth of experience from his distinguished career in the diplomatic service. Since 2013, he has served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa to the United Nations, during which he also acted as Chair of the Group of 77 and China. In 2009, he was appointed High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to the Federal Republic of Nigeria . Previously, Mr. Mamabolo facilitated peace processes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi as the Special Envoy of the Republic of South Africa to the Great Lakes Region (2006-2009). He also served as Deputy Director-General for African Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Africa (2002-2006).

Mr. Mamabolo held other senior positions, such as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa to the African Union and to Ethiopia, Sudan, and Djibouti (1999-2002), during which he led efforts to promote dialogue in post-war Sierra Leone in his capacity as the Special Envoy of the African Union to Sierra Leone and the Mano River Basin (2001-2002). He was also South Africa’s High Commissioner to the Republic of Zimbabwe (1995-1999).

Mr. Mamabolo holds a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, a diploma in journalism from Harare Polytechnic College, Zimbabwe, and a graduate diploma in social sciences from Moscow School of Social Sciences, Russia.

Born in 1955, he is married and has four children.

New York, 2 March 2016