Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) – February 27, 2024
UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Vivian van de Perre of the Netherlands as Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.
Van de Perre succeeds Khassim Diagne of Senegal. Since July 2022, she has held the position of Deputy Head of the United Nations Mission in Support of the Hodeïda Agreement in Yemen (MINUAAH), after having been Chief of Staff at the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, from 2018 to 2022, Chief of Staff at MONUSCO, in 2017, and Head of the Office of the Special Envoy for Burundi, in 2016.
Her appointment comes at a time when the UN force (15,000 Blue Helmets) is beginning its withdrawal from the DRC after 25 years of presence in this Central African country.
Ms. van de Perre has extensive experience in the field and at Headquarters, most recently as Chief of Staff of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) (since January 2022 and between 2018-2020) and Director of the Mission Finance Division of the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance (DMSPC) at UN Headquarters (2020-2022). She previously held the positions of Chief of Staff of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (2017), Head of the Office of the Special Envoy for Burundi (2016-2017), Attaché de Cabinet to the former Department of Political Affairs (2013-2016) and Principal Officer of the Secretary-General’s Change Team (2012-2013). She also served as Chief of Staff to the Under-Secretary-General for Management (2011-2012), Head of Administration and Communications for the Capital Master Plan (2005-2011), Special Assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security (2003-2005) and Head of a Budget Unit at the Office of the United Nations Controller (1998-2003).
From 1985 to 1998, she served in the Royal Netherlands Army, including from 1994 to 1998 as a military officer seconded to the then Department of Peacekeeping Operations and as an international election observer in Mozambique.
Ms van de Perre holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Cambridge, USA, and an undergraduate degree from the Royal Netherlands Military Academy (Breda). In addition to Dutch, she speaks English, Spanish, French and German.
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