Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
Mission
The Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General plans the Secretary-General’s media related activities and briefs journalists on a daily basis. To explain the policies and work of the Organization to the world’s media, the Office:
- provides daily briefings, interviews and background discussion (for this purpose, receiving guidance from the Office of the Secretary-General, as well as information from other offices, funds, programmes and agencies of the United Nations system);
- advises the Secretary-General on relations with the media;
- schedules his/her press interviews;
- travels with the Secretary-General and speaks to the media on his/her behalf.
The Spokesman’s Office, administered by DPI, reports directly to the Secretary-General.
On 1 December, 2009, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Martin Nesirky of the United Kingdom as his Spokesperson.
Mr. Nesirky brings to this position more than 20 years of experience in journalism, media relations and international affairs. He comes to the United Nations from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, where he has served for more than three years as Spokesperson and Head of Press and Public Information.
Mr. Nesirky has also served for more than two decades as an international correspondent and editor for Reuters. He was Reuters Bureau Chief in Moscow, and was also posted in Berlin, The Hague, and Seoul, as well as working as a senior editor in London handling global political news stories.
