former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Matthew Nimetz, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the talks between Greece and what was then the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, sat down for an interview with UN News.
UN News/Alban Mendes de Leon

‘I don’t like to give up': veteran UN envoy reveals how two decades of quiet diplomacy gave birth to North Macedonia

28 February 2019
Peace and Security

Last June, a historic agreement settled a 27-year-long name dispute between two countries, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece. One man, Matthew Nimetz,  patiently led the negotiations on behalf of the United Nations for over two decades and he told UN News, in an exclusive interview, that his faith in a positive outcome never faltered.

On 26 August 2015, a distressed child rests over the shoulder of the man carrying him, in the town of Gevgelija, on the border with Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

UN chief 'commends' leadership of Greece and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as name dispute draws to final close

25 January 2019
UN Affairs

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated the Greek Parliament over its ratification of a name change for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Friday, and commended the leaders of both countries for signalling the end to a naming dispute that has roiled the region for some 28 years.

Matthew Nimetz, Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for the naming dispute between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), at a press conference. (file)
UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz

UN welcomes progress in former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia naming dispute

13 January 2019
Peace and Security

The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the naming dispute between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Matthew Nimetz, has welcomed the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia parliament’s decision to ratify an agreement on a new name for the latter country, following a dispute that has lasted some 28 years.