Kuwait City: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, of Ghana, as his Special Representative for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
According to Kuwait News Agency, Tetteh succeeds Abdoulaye Bathily, of Senegal, who served as Special Envoy and Head of UNSMIL until May 2024. The Secretary-General expressed gratitude for Bathily's leadership, as well as to Deputy Special Representative, Stephanie Koury, who led the Mission in the interim period as Officer-in-Charge.
Tetteh brings extensive experience to this position at the national, regional, and international levels. Most recently, she was the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa from 2022 until 2024. Before that, she served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) from 2018 to 2020. She also held the role of Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi.
Before joining the United Nations, Tetteh was a prominent member of the Government of Ghana, serving as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017, and was a member of the National Security Council and the Armed Forces Council. She also held the position of Minister for Trade and Industry from 2009 to 2013. During her tenure as Foreign Minister from 2014 to 2015, she chaired the Council of Ministers and the Mediation and Security Council of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).