UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced on Wednesday the appointment of Moroccan Najat Rochdi as Deputy Special Envoy for Syria.
Ms. Rochdi succeeds Khawla Matar of Bahrain, “to whom the Secretary-General expresses his gratitude for his efforts and dedication in the search for peace in Syria”, the spokesman for the UN SG said in a statement. .
Ms. Rochdi has over 20 years of experience in political affairs and international coordination in conflict and post-conflict areas, including her most recent assignment as Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, at the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL).
She was also Senior Advisor to the UN Special Envoy for Syria and Director at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva.
Previously, Ms. Rochdi served as Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). She had also held the position of Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Cameroon and Deputy Director of the Representative Office of the United Nations Development Program in Geneva.
Ms. Rochdi holds a doctorate in information systems from the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics in Rabat and a master’s degree in mathematics and fundamental applications from the University of Paris Sud 11.