United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 22 February 2022 the appointment of Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana as his Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa. She succeeds Parfait Onanga-Anyanga of Gabon to whom the Secretary-General reiterates his deep gratitude and appreciation for his dedicated service.
Ms. Tetteh brings to this position decades of experience at the national, regional and international levels, including well-honed skills in building consensus among stakeholders, which will allow her to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and countries in the Horn of Africa, as well as with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in the area of peace and security.
She served since 2019 as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU). Prior to that, she served as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. She also served in the cabinet of the Government of Ghana as Minister for Foreign Affairs during which time she was also a member of the National Security Council and the Armed Forces Council (2013-2017). She was Minister for Trade and Industry (2009-2013). From 2014 to 2015, she was the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers as well as Chairperson of the Mediation & Security Council of the Economic Community of West African States. During her term as Minister for Trade and Industry, she was a member of the Government’s economic management team, the board of the Millennium Development Authority and the National Development Planning Commission as well as the Chairperson of the Ghana Free Zones Board. In 2009, she served as Spokesperson for President John Evans Atta Mills’ Administration transition team.
She was a Member of Parliament in 2000-2005 and 2013-2017. She was appointed Co-Facilitator in the High-Level Forum for the Revitalisation of the Agreement for the resolution of the conflict in South Sudan (2017-2018).
Ms. Tetteh holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Ghana, Legon. She was called to the Ghana Bar in 1992. In addition to English, she is fluent in Hungarian and Fante.
