U.N. chief appoints former Kyrgyzstan President as Afghanistan envoy

Geneva, The Gulf Observer: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed a former president of Kyrgyzstan as his new Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Roza Otunbayeva, who also served as foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan, replaces Deborah Lyons, who stepped down in mid-June, the United Nations said in a statement, according to reports.

The humanitarian and economic situation in Afghanistan has worsened since the Taliban took over a year ago as U.S.-led forces withdrew after two decades of war.

According to the U.N. statement, 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 (2010-2011) and on three occasions as Foreign Minister, most recently as Acting Minister in 2005. She was a Member of Parliament (2007-2010) and served as Deputy Prime Minister in 1991.

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 (1992-1994) and as Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Kingdom (1997-2002). From 1989 to 1991, she was President of the Soviet National Commission for UNESCO.

Otunbayeva also served with the United Nations as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) (2002-2004).

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.

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.