United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 8 August 2025, the appointment of Ingeborg Ulrika Ulfsdotter Richardson of Sweden as his new Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and Resident Coordinator in Libya. She succeeds Aeneas Chuma of Zimbabwe, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service during the interim period.
She has over 30 years of experience in development and humanitarian assistance and post-conflict recovery, with a focus on complex political, socio-economic, and human rights contexts. She has spent most of her career with the United Nations, where she has served in various regions, including West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, the Western Balkans and South-East Europe.
Ms. Richardson has been the Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti since 2022, and was previously the Development Coordinator in Kosovo, working closely with United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) (2018-2022). Her earlier assignments include serving as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund and United Nations Population Fund in Cabo Verde (2013-2018), UNDP Resident Representative in Gabon (2012-2013), and Deputy Resident Representative in Türkiye (2007-2012) and in Cuba (2004-2007).
Ms. Richardson holds a master’s degree in development economics from Gothenburg University and a Bachelor of Social Science degree from Lund University, both in Sweden. In addition to her native Swedish, she is fluent in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
