Ghanaian appointed Deputy Special Representative of UN Mission in South Sudan

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has appointed a Ghanaian, Eugene Owusu as his Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS).

A press release from the UN copied to ghanabusinessnews.com says he will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator, and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

He will succeed Mr. Toby Lanzer of the United Kingdom, who will be taking up the post of Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel region, the release said.

The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Lanzer’s dedicated service with the United Nations in the Republic of South Sudan.

Mr. Owusu is currently the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of UNDP in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. He has held the position since August 2010.

Before this appointment, he served as Senior Advisor in the UNDP Brussels Office.

Mr. Owusu, who holds a doctorate degree in Agricultural Economics from Pennsylvania State University, United States of America, joined the UNDP in 1996 and has worked in several capacities in the Africa region, including as Economic Advisor in UNDP Uganda (1996-1999), as Economic Advisor in UNDP Sierra Leone (1999-2002).

He has also worked as Deputy Resident Representative (Programme) in UNDP Tanzania (2002-2007).

Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Owusu worked for the private sector in the United Kingdom, the release added.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi