New York, 10 December 2018. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Carlos Ruiz Massieu of Mexico as his Special Representative for Colombia and Head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia.

Mr. Ruiz Massieu will succeed Jean Arnault of France, to whom the Secretary-General extends his deep gratitude for his exemplary service in support of peace in Colombia since 2015, initially as Delegate of the Secretary-General to the peace talks in Havana and subsequently as Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission in Colombia and its successor, the Verification Mission in Colombia.

Carlos Ruiz Massieu brings to this position some 25 years of experience in public service and diplomacy, in both bilateral and multilateral contexts.  Most recently, he has been deeply involved in the establishment and support of United Nations peace operations, as well as in reforms to the Organization in the areas of Peace and Security, Development and Management, through his service as Chairperson, at the Under-Secretary-General level, of the General Assembly’s Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) since 2013, and as a member since 2011.

A distinguished career diplomat since 1999, he served as Alternate Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Security Council from 2009 to 2010.  From 2004 to 2008, he represented Mexico before the United Nations Economic and Social Council, at governing bodies of United Nations Funds and Programmes, and at the Main Committees of the General Assembly dealing with management and development issues.  He also served as Deputy Director General at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was posted at the Embassy of Mexico to Costa Rica. Previously, he held positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Social Development.

Mr. Ruiz Massieu holds a law degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, and a master’s degree in political science, with a focus on Latin American politics, from the University of Essex, United Kingdom.  Mr. Ruiz Massieu is married and has three children.

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