Former Special Adviser, Mr. Maged Abdelfatah Abdelaziz (2012 - 2017)

Under-Secretary-General Abdelaziz was appointed by the Secretary-General by United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on  8 March 2012, and took up office on Thursday 17 May  of the same year. He brings to the position more than 33 years of experience in multilateral diplomacy, a direct engagement in promoting global peace, security and development.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Abdelaziz  had been serving as Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations in New York, since 2005.  In that capacity, he co-chaired in 2008 the Review Conference on Financing for Development and, in 2009, he was the Rapporteur, representing Africa, at the Conference on the Economic and Financial Crisis and Its Impact on Development.

Having served as Vice President of the Economic and Social Council (2011-12) and Vice President of the United Nations General Assembly (2008-2009), Mr. Abdelaziz enjoys an intimate knowledge of the UN intergovernmental processes and multilateral diplomacy. Pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 65/289 to consider rates of reimbursement to troop contributing countries and related issues, he also served as a member of the Secretary-General’s Senior Advisory Group. As Chair of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement since 2009, he chaired the High Officials’ meeting of the 15th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in Sharm El Sheik (Egypt) in July 2009.

As Deputy Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations (1997-99) he was the principal officer in charge of all the questions relating to disarmament. During that period, he served as the Chair of the United Nations Disarmament Commission which negotiated and adopted the United Nations guidelines for the establishment of Nuclear Weapons-free Zones. He was a member of the Egyptian delegation to the Security Council during Egypt’s membership of the council in (1984-85) and (1995-97).

Mr. Abdelaziz played a leading role in the establishment of the Human Rights Council and the Peace-Building Commission as well as the elaboration and adoption of the United Nations Global Counter Terrorism Strategy. He also played an active role in enhancing the United Nations’ role in development, with particular emphasis on the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and enhancing the global response to the special needs of Africa, the Least Developed Countries and the Small Islands Developing States. His focus was on revitalizing the entire agenda relating to the special needs of Africa, including through implementation of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to which the Secretary-General attaches the highest priority.
Mr. Abdelaziz graduated from the Ain Shams University School of Law in 1973. He is married and father of one daughter.