UNMIT Announces Appointment of Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Lest

7 Jul 2008

UNMIT Announces Appointment of Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Lest

7 September 2006, DILI— Finn Reske-Nielsen has been appointed as Deputy Special- Representative for the Secretary General (DSRSG) for Governance Support, Development and Humanitarian Coordination for United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).

Mr. Reske-Nielsen took up his post immediately after arriving in Dili on last Sunday. As a member of the senior management team of UNMIT, Mr. Reske-Nielsen will be responsible for providing support and guidance to the 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections, governance support, donor coordination and resource mobilization, humanitarian assistance and HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Reske-Nielsen had previously served in the capacities of UN Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative in Dili. He will retain those functions in addition to his new role as DRSG. Those responsibilities include overseeing overall coordination of UN operational activities for development in addition to the coordination of UN humanitarian assistance to Timor-Leste.

Earlier this year, Mr. Reske-Nielsen participated in the assessment mission in Timor-Leste led by Special Envoy Ian Martin in which he assisted in the planning for the governance sector of the new mission.

SRSG Sukehiro Hasegawa welcomed the appointment of Mr. Reske-Nielsen as DSRSG. "I'm delighted to have the support of Deputy Finn Reske-Nielsen as the new mission takes shape, "he said. "Finn knows and understands Timor-Leste and the challenges that are ahead of him in his new role and, I'm sure he will work tirelessly to meet those challenges."

Before coming to Dili, in 2002 Mr. Reske-Nielsen served as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. He held the same function in Dili from 1999 until 2002 under the aegis of the United Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) where, working in close cooper Before coming to Dili, in 2002 Mr. Reske-Nielsen served as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. He held the same function in Dili from 1999 until 2002 under the aegis of the United Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) where, working in close cooperation with then Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Sergio de Mello, he helped develop the overall design and coordination of UN agency programmes. At that time, Mr. Reske-Nielsen also designed and implemented in East Timor a range of recovery and longer-term development programs.

Previous appointments with UNDP include Deputy Representative in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and Assistant Resident Representative in Windhoek, Namibia. Mr. Reske-Nielsen has also held posts with United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Switzerland and Zambia and in the Department of Political Affairs of the UN Secretariat in New York.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Reske-Nielsen was an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Aarhus in Denmark where he specialized in theory of democracy and taught a range of topics including comparative politics and political theory. He holds a post-graduate degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the same university.

For additional information, please contact:
Donna Cusumano, Chief, Public Information Office, UNMIT; +670 723 0749