Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Antonio Vigilante of Italy Deputy Special

Representative within United Nations Mission in Liberia

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Antonio Vigilante of Italy as his Deputy Special Representative for Recovery and Governance in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).  Mr. Vigilante will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative.

The new Deputy Special Representative will succeed Aeneas Chuma of Zimbabwe, who has recently taken up a new assignment with the International Labour Organization, and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his outstanding performance in Liberia.

Mr. Vigilante brings a wealth of development and leadership experience to his new assignment.  Since 2006, he has served as Director of the United Nations Office and the UNDP Representation Office in Brussels.  He has worked for the Programme since 1981, serving in recent years as Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt and Bulgaria, and as UNDP Special Representative for Post-Conflict Development in South-Eastern Europe.  He previously held positions with the United Nations in Barbados, Bolivia, Ethiopia and Honduras, as well as at Headquarters.

The holder of a master’s degree in political science (summa cum laude) from the Istituto Universitario Orientale in Naples, Italy, he also earned a post-graduate diploma in international relations.  Mr. Vigilante has authored numerous publications on United Nations-related development and human rights issues.

Born in Italy in 1955, he is married and has a daughter.

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For information media • not an official record