Secretary-General Appoints Parfait Onanga-Anyanga of Gabon Special Representative, Head of United Nations Office to African Union

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Parfait Onanga-Anyanga of Gabon as his Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU).  He will succeed Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, to whom the Secretary-General expresses his deep gratitude and appreciation for her dedicated service.

Mr. Onanga-Anyanga brings more than 25 years of progressively responsible experience at the national, regional and international levels, with extensive experience at the United Nations, both in conflict-affected areas and at Headquarters.  He brings to the position well-honed skills in building consensus among stakeholders and his knowledge of the Organization to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in the area of peace and security.

Since 2019, he served as Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa.  Before that, he was Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).  In his previous capacities, he was the Coordinator of United Nations Headquarters Response to the Boko Haram crisis, as well as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Burundi and Head of the United Nations Office in Burundi.

From 2007 to 2012, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga was the Director of the Office of the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General.  Previously, he served as Chef de Cabinet to the President of the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly and as Special Adviser to the President of the sixtieth and sixty-first sessions of the General Assembly.

Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga was a career diplomat in Gabon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, completing his service at the rank of Ambassador.

He holds a post-graduate degree in political science from the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and a master’s degree in sociology from Omar Bongo University in Libreville, Gabon.  He is fluent in English and French.

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* This supersedes Press Release SG/A/1864-BIO/5191 of 13 March 2019.