Farid Zarif ( fa, فرید ظریف; born 1951, in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

) was

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative and Head of the

United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo. The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall ...

(UNMIK). In August 2015, he was promoted to the level of United Nations Under-Secretary-General and appointed as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to Liberia and Coordinator of the United Nations Operations in Liberia (UNMIL).

Career

Zarif has extensive experience in diplomatic, international and United Nations affairs. During his diplomatic service, he served in various positions inside and outside Afghanistan, including as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 1981 to 1987; Deputy Foreign Minister from 1987 to 1989; and Presidential Adviser on International Affairs from 1989 to 1991. Having joined the United Nations in 1993, Mr. Zarif has since served at Headquarters in New York as well as in political, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in Eritrea, Liberia, South Africa, Iraq and Sudan in various capacities, including Chief of Section, Director of Division, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Chief of Staff. He was appointed Director of the Europe and Latin America Division in the Office of Operations, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, in August 2010, and served as Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo since August 2011. Mr. Zarif graduated from Kabul University's Faculty of Law and Political Science in 1973, and entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the following year. After graduating with honours from the Afghan Institute of Diplomacy, he studied international relations and diplomacy at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

External links

United Nations Press Release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarif, Farid 1951 births Living people Afghan officials of the United Nations United Nations Mission in Kosovo People from Kabul Kabul University alumni Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations