The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Mari Yamashita of Japan as his Representative and Director of the United Nations Office in Belgrade.  Ms. Yamashita succeeds Simona-Mirela Miculescu of Romania, who has assumed new functions with the Government of Romania.  The Secretary-General is grateful to Ms. Miculescu for her contribution to the work of the United Nations Office in Belgrade during her tenure in this position. 

As the Representative of the Secretary-General, Ms. Yamashita will oversee the Office’s activities in support of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and with regard to regional developments of special relevance to the work of the United Nations and UNMIK. 

Ms. Yamashita is an experienced United Nations professional, her career spanning over 30 years working on peace and security, preventive diplomacy, peacebuilding and outreach, both at Headquarters and in the field.  She is currently the Deputy Director of the Asia Pacific Division of the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations.   

Among other positions with the United Nations, she served as Deputy Head and Director of the Peacebuilding Support Office, Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Tokyo and as External Relations Adviser in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.  In addition, Ms. Yamashita held leadership positions in the field, including with the United Nations Mission in Nepal, United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe - United Nations Joint Operation in Armenia.

Ms. Yamashita holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Jochi Daigaku/Sophia University (Japan) and a Master of Arts degree in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University (USA).