United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mrs. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, have appointed Mr. Joseph Mutaboba of Rwanda as African Union and United Nations Deputy Joint Special Representative in Darfur and Deputy Head of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation (UNAMID).

Mr. Mutaboba will replace Ms. Aichatou Mindaoudou of Niger. The Secretary-General would like to take this opportunity to express his deep appreciation to Ms. Mindaoudou for her tireless dedication and invaluable service during her tenure in UNAMID.

Mr. Mutaboba brings to his new position extensive experience after a long career in diplomacy and foreign affairs, most recently serving as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Guinea-Bissau and Head of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) until January 2013.

He previously served as the Rwandan President’s Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, and as Secretary-General in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Internal Affairs. Earlier, he held several senior level positions as the Deputy National Coordinator for Rwanda, the Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1999 to 2001 and as a senior diplomat in Addis Ababa and Washington, D.C.

Mr. Mutaboba has a Master of Philosophy degree in librarian and information science from North London University. He speaks English and French, and has a working knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

Born in 1949, he is married and has three children.

New York
20 June 2013