The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Friday appointed Ismail Ahmed of Mauritania as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, UNMEER.

This was contained in a statement issued by Ban’s Spokesperson, Stephane DuJarric in New York.

According to the statement, as Special Representative, Mr. Ahmed will work closely with the Special Envoy on Ebola, David Nabarro and with the governments of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone and other partners.

Mr. Ahmed succeeds Anthony Banbury of the U.S., who would return to New York in early January 2015.

In the statement, the secretary-general expressed his gratitude to Mr. Banbury for his vision and leadership of UNMEER and for his commitment to fighting Ebola outbreak.

Mr. Ban stated that Mr. Ahmed would be bringing his over 28 years of development and humanitarian assistance experience with the UN in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Mr. Ahmed is currently the Deputy Special Representative of the secretary-general and Deputy Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, UNSMIL, UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and the UN Development Programme, UNDP, Resident Representative.

He has also served as Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Syria (2008-2012) and Yemen (2012-2014).

Mr. Ahmed has held several positions with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), including as Director of Change Management in New York, Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa in Nairobi, and Representative in Georgia.

Born in 1960, Mr. Ahmed holds a Master’s degree in Human Resources Development from the University of Manchester, a Bachelor’s in economics from the University of Montpellier and an Advanced Certificate in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from Maastricht Graduate School of Governance.

(NAN)