UN Secretary-General Appoints Ex-Lebanese Minister to Head Mission in Libya

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Ghassan Salame of Lebanon as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), according to official statement.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed former Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame as his Special Representative and Head of the UN Mission in Libya, Office of the Secretary-General’s spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.

"United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today announced the appointment of Ghassan Salame of Lebanon as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)," the statement noted.

Salame will succeed Martin Kobler of Germany who has been serving in this position since November 2015.

In 2003, Salame served as the Political Advisor to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), before being appointed as Senior Advisor to the Secretary-General (2003-2007, 2012). He also served as Lebanon’s Minister of Culture from 2000 to 2003.

Throughout most of his career, Salame was professor of International Relations at Sciences-Po (Paris) and he is the founding Dean of its Paris School of International Affairs.

Libya has been in a state of turmoil after the ouster of the country’s long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi by the Unite States and its EU allies. Over the past year, Libya has particularly suffered as the terrorist group Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia) tries to make advances in the country.