Former German president appointed new UN envoy for Western Sahara

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Prof. Horst Köhler as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara.

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel offered Horst Köhler his congratulations: “Horst Köhler has long devoted himself to the African continent with dedication and passion – for many years as President and latterly on behalf of the African Development Bank. He is just the right man for the challenges at hand. Together with all those concerned, he will work on finding a just, viable political solution for the Western Sahara that is accepted by all sides. Allow me to wish him every success for his new and important role.”

In 2012, then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made Horst Köhler a member of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The panel’s report laid the foundations for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by the United Nations in 2015.

Since 2016, Prof. Horst Köhler has, together with Kofi Annan, headed up a Special Panel of the African Development Bank that advises the bank on the implementation of its strategies. Horst Köhler is the successor to Christopher Ross, who was the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara from 2009.

© FFO

Check Also

Nigerians’ long wait for passport to end — new minister

Nigeria’s new Minister of Interior, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, has criticized the delays experienced by Nigerians to …