Ban appoints special adviser on post-2015 development planning and head of Burundi office

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ms. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as his Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning, and Parfait Onanga-Anyanga of Gabon as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office in Burundi (BNUB).

Ms. Mohammed brings to the position over 30 years of experience as a development practitioner in the public and private sectors as well as civil society, according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

The Special Adviser is currently the Chief Executive Officer and founder of the Center for Development Policy Solutions, a think-tank focussed on addressing policy and knowledge gaps within the government, parliament and private sector in development and civil society for robust advocacy materials.

She also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, New York, and her past experience includes serving as the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In addition, she currently serves on numerous international advisory panels and boards, including the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Secretary General’s Global Sustainability Panel.

In relation to Burundi appointment, Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said that Mr. Onanga-Anyanga will replace Ms. Karin Landgren of Sweden, who has recently been appointed the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Liberia, and he brings to the position many years of experience at the United Nations.

Since 2007, he has served as the Director of the Office of the UN Deputy Secretary-General, providing support to the Deputy Secretary-General in a wide range of areas, including in strengthening United Nations management, advancing the achievement of the MDGs and furthering system-wide coordination and coherence.

Mr. Onanga-Anyanga’s prior experience includes serving as a Special Adviser to the President of the 60th and 61st sessions of the General Assembly from 2005 to 2007, as well as a variety of political and managerial positions at the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization in Vienna and New York, and service with the Permanent Mission of Gabon to the United Nations in New York.