Secretary-General Appoints Roza Otunbayeva of Kyrgyzstan Special Representative, Head of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Roza Otunbayeva of Kyrgyzstan as his new Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Ms. Otunbayeva succeeds Deborah Lyons of Canada, to whom the Secretary-General expresses his gratitude for her dedicated service.

Ms. Otunbayeva brings to the position over 35 years of professional experience in leadership, diplomacy, civic engagement, and international cooperation.  She served as President of the Kyrgyz Republic from 2010 to 2011 and on three occasions as Foreign Minister, most recently as Acting Minister in 2005.  She was a Member of Parliament from 2007 to 2010 and served as Deputy Prime Minister in 1991.

Ms. Otunbayeva has also held several senior diplomatic positions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United States of America and Canada from 1992 to 1994 and as Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2002.  From 1989 to 1991, she was President of the Soviet National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Ms. Otunbayeva also served with the United Nations as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) from 2002 to 2004.  Presently, she is a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation and the Head of the Roza Otunbayeva Initiative Foundation in Kyrgyzstan.

Ms. Otunbayeva holds a Doctorate in Philosophy from Moscow State University and a degree from the Philosophy Faculty of the Moscow State University.  She is fluent in Kyrgyz, Russian and English.