New UN Deputy Special Representative for Iraq

Shafaq News/ United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir of Iceland as his new Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

She succeeds Alice Walpole of the United Kingdom, who will complete her assignment on 28 February. The Secretary-General is grateful to Ms. Walpole for her dedicated service to the United Nations in Iraq since 2017.

Ms. Gísladóttir brings a wealth of diplomatic and political experience to the position, including from her recent role as Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights at the Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe (OSCE), and most recently as the Head of its Election Observation Mission in Ukraine. She also served as Regional Director in Europe and Central Asia for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), as well as its Country Representative in Turkey and Afghanistan.

In addition, she was the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland from 2007 to 2009, a Member of Parliament for seven years and Mayor of Reykjavík for nine years. She is a member of the Nordic Women’s Mediators Network.

Ms. Gísladóttir holds a bachelor’s degree in history and literature from the University of Iceland and completed post-graduate studies in history at the University of Copenhagen.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called an early general election for June 6, 2021, roughly a year ahead of when it would normally be held.

Early elections are a key demand of Iraqi anti-government protesters who staged months of mass demonstrations last year and were killed in their hundreds by security forces and gunmen.

Source: UN + Shafaq News Agency