Secretary-General appoints Mr. Ghulam Isaczai of Afghanistan as Deputy Special Representative and Resident Coordinator for Iraq

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Ghulam Mohammad Isaczai of Afghanistan as his new Deputy Special Representative for Iraq in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and Resident Coordinator.  Mr. Isaczai will also serve as the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator. 

Mr. Isaczai succeeds Irena Vojáčková-Sollorano of Germany to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her leadership and dedicated service during her tenure. 

Mr. Isaczai brings to this position more than 28 years of experience in preventive diplomacy and complex humanitarian, development, recovery and peace-building settings.  He is currently serving as the ad interim Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan since January 2022.  Previously, he served as Afghanistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.  Prior to this, he served as Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan (2016-2021) and in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2013-2015), posts he combined with the positions of Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).  From 1997-2013, he served in various policy, development and humanitarian positions with the United Nations system in Germany, Nepal, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, including as UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Nepal and Chief of Programme Division with the United Nations Volunteers in Bonn. 

Mr. Isaczai holds a Master of Arts degree in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University in Boston and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Midland University in Nebraska.  Mr. Isaczai speaks English, Arabic, Pashto, Persian and Urdu.