Guterres: the new face of United Nations
The new UN Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Mr Fabrizio Hochschild of Chile as Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the Executive Office.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Mr Fabrizio Hochschild of Chile as my Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the Executive Office,” Guterres announced in a statement on his first day as UN scribe.
“Reporting to the Chef de Cabinet, Hochschild will work closely with other members of my team to support me in ensuring coherence across the political, peacekeeping, development, humanitarian, human rights and rule of law portfolios,” the UN chief stated.
Guterres had earlier appointed Ms Amina Mohammed, the current Nigeria’s Minister of Environment as Deputy Secretary-General, Ms Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea as Special Advisor on Policy and Ms Maria Viotti of Brazil as Chef de Cabinet.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Ms. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as my Deputy Secretary-General, and Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as my Chef De Cabinet.
“I also intend to create the position of Special Advisor on Policy, and to appoint Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to this new role.
“I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action.
“These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will not stop to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity,” Guterres had stated.
Hochschild is currently serving as Deputy Special Representative for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic, which he was appointed in July 2016.
He previously served as Deputy to the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.
From 2013 to 2016, he was the UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme in Colombia.
From 2010 to 2012, he served as the Director of the Field Personnel Division in the UN Department of Field Support, New York; and from 2005 to 2009, as Chief of Field Operations and Technical Cooperation in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva.
Hochschild had since 1988 served in several UN positions, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Sudan, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and in peacekeeping.