The Secretary-General has appointed Mr. Sukehiro Hasegawa (Japan) as Head of the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste, UNOTIL, which was established under Security Council resolution 1599 on 28 April 2005. The appointment is with effect from 21 May 2005, when the mandate of UNOTIL entered into force, and will last until 20 May 2006, when the mission will end. Mr. Hasegawa thus continues to serve as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste, having succeeded Kamalesh Sharma (India) as Head of the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) on 21 May 2004.

Mr. Hasegawa has been serving as the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Timor-Leste since July 2002, and previously served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste and Deputy Head of UNMISET from 1 July 2002 to 20 May 2004.

Further details are available in a press release.