Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on appointment of his Deputy Special Representative for Eritrea and Ethiopia

Ambassador Adechi has been serving as the Permanent Representative of Benin to the United Nations since September 1999, and has been his country's representative to the Security Council.

Prior to his appointment in New York, Mr. Adechi served with distinction in a variety of capacities in his country's foreign service, including appointments to the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) as Chargé d'Affaires with simultaneous accreditation to the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and Angola; to Canada as Minister Counselor and to the United Nations in New York as Minister Counselor dealing with Security Council matters. In this capacity, he also served as President of the Coordinating Bureau of the Least Developed Countries.

Mr. Adechi joined Benin's Foreign Service in 1976 after graduating in International Law from the University of Orleans, France having previously obtained a Masters degree in Diplomacy from the Public Administration International Institute of Paris. He is married with four children.

He is expected to take up his duties in Asmara in early June.