Our Team in Iraq

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert

UNAMI
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq
 
 
Ms. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of the Netherlands assumed her responsibilities as Special Representative for Iraq of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on 17 December 2018.
Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert brings over 20 years of political and diplomatic experience, having served in several high-level Government and parliamentary positions. She was Minister for Defence of the Netherlands (2012-2017), the first woman to be appointed in that role. As Minister, she oversaw the Central Staff, Support Command, the Defence Material Organisation and the four Royal Netherlands Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force and the Military and Border Police. In this role, she had oversight of Dutch involvement in military operations in Mali, Afghanistan and Iraq, building close collaboration with the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United Nations partners.
Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert also served as a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands (2010-2012) and a member of the European Parliament (2004-2010). She worked for the European Commission in Brussels and in Riga, Latvia, and for the City of Amsterdam.
Claudio Cordone

Claudio Cordone

UNAMI
Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance
 
 
Mr. Claudio Cordone of Italy assumed his responsibilities as Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on 14 August 2022.
Appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres on 11 July 2022, Mr. Cordone brings to this position more than 35 years of experience in international relations, international human rights and humanitarian law, including as Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Lebanon, where he has been serving since 2017. During this time, he also briefly served as the interim Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon. Previously, he served as Director of the Human Rights, Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Division with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), as well as Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the country (2013-2017). He worked with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and spent over 25 years with Amnesty International in multiple capacities, including a six-month tenure as interim Secretary General in 2010. From 1997 to 1998, he served as Chief of the Human Rights Office with the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH).
Mr. Cordone holds a law degree from Sapienza University of Rome and completed a Master of Arts in Arab Studies at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Mr. Cordone speaks English, French, Italian and Arabic.
Ghulam Mohammad Isaczai

Ghulam Mohammad Isaczai

Deputy Special Representative, Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq
 
 
Mr. Isaczai took up his role in Iraq as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary ‎General, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in October 2022, after serving as UN ‎Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan. ‎
Prior to that, he served as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic ‎Republic of Afghanistan to the UN in New York. ‎
Mr. Isaczai brings to the job over 25 years of work experience in the UN system covering ‎complex humanitarian, development, recovery, and peace-building issues in different parts of ‎the world, including serving as UN Resident Coordinator to the Republic of Azerbaijan (2016) ‎and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2013). He also served as the UNDP and UNFPA ‎Resident Representative in both countries.‎
Mr. Isaczai served in other senior leadership and management positions within the UN system, ‎including as Director of Program at the United Nations Volunteers in Bonn, Germany; UNDP ‎Senior Advisor and Country Director a.i in Tajikistan, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative and ‎Head of Program in Nepal, and Assistant Resident Representative in Yemen. He also served in ‎Afghanistan, and Syria with the UN system. ‎
Before joining the UN system, Mr. Isaczai held positions with the Swedish Committee for ‎Afghanistan and Save the Children-US in Peshawar, Pakistan, and worked with the private ‎sector in the United States.‎
Mr. Isaczai holds an M.A. in Public International Law from the Fletcher School of Law and ‎Diplomacy, Tufts University, a BSc in Business Administration from Midland University, a ‎Diploma in Human Development from Jones International University, and courses on ‎negotiations and conflict resolution from Harvard University.‎
He is fluent in Pashto, Dari/Farsi, and English and has a working knowledge of Arabic.‎
Teams

Ajay Madiwale

UN Women
UN Women’s Representative ad interim in Iraq
 
 
 
Ajay Madiwale is UN Women’s Representative ad interim in Iraq. Previously, he was the Regional WPS-HA Advisor for the UN Women Regional Office for Arab States, and he joined UN Women in 2021 as Syria Programme Manager. Before UN Women, Ajay served as the Strategic Planning and Partnerships Advisor at UNOPS, supporting the establishment of eight new country offices and programme presences in the Europe and Central Asia Region. Prior to joining the UN, he worked for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), where he led the IFRC’s policy work on the localization of humanitarian aid, represented IFRC in the SDG, COP 21, Financing for Development, and World Humanitarian Summit negotiations, and managed global partnerships with UN Agencies and the World Bank. Ajay’s began his career in Indian civil society, documenting human rights violations for India’s largest legal NGO (HRLN), before taking up his first international role in Kabul with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in 2008.
Ajay holds an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, an MA in Political Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, and a BA in Political Science from Bard College in New York.
Ali Elbereir

Ali Elbereir

UNODC
Senior Programme Coordinator, Head of Office
 
Mr. Ali El-Bereir is the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Senior Programme Coordinator and Head of its Iraq Office in Baghdad. He brings to his role substantive and managerial experience in developing, negotiating, implementing and monitoring technical assistance programmes, as well as in building and maintaining close partnerships with relevant stakeholders in government, private sector and civil society organizations.
Mr. EL-Bereir joined UNODC in 2014 as Programme Coordinator & Head of the Sub-Regional Programme Office for the Maghreb Countries with ROMENA, based in Tripoli, Libya, and since then served in various capacities, including as UNODC Deputy Regional Representative for the UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) a.i.
Before joining UNODC, Mr.El-Bereir worked as: Human Rights Officer with the United Nations Support Mission to Libya (UNSMIL); Human Rights Officer and Human Rights Officer (Investigator) with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva; Rule of Law/Judicial Affairs Officer with the United Nations Mission In Sudan (UNMIS); with the Judiciary in Sudan; in the private sector and with a Sudanese NGO. He earned a post graduate degree in Human Rights Law from the University of Khartoum, Sudan. He is fluent in Arabic and English.
Ally Raza Qureshi

Ally-Raza Qureshi

WFP
Representative
Ally-Raza Qureshi joins the WFP Iraq team following a long career in humanitarian and emergency response, development and also the private sector. He is a national of Pakistan and began his career as a Chartered Accountant. Ally has worked with WFP for 20 years, starting with the Oversight Department as an internal auditor, subsequently Head of Area Office in El-Fasher, Darfur, Sudan; WFP Bangladesh Deputy Representative; and at HQ the Deputy Director for Resource Management and Programming, Deputy Director for WFP’s corporate transformative project- the Integrated Road Map and acting Director of Corporate Planning and Performance Management. Ally was recently WFP Deputy Representative in Yemen, where he successfully led the expansion of the programme to support over 13 million Yemenis. Ally is passionate about helping communities through resilience and livelihood programmes, and social protection systems addressing their needs. He is an advocate for green energy and for combating climate change. Ally has been in Iraq for nine months as WFP Iraq Representative. Since then, he has been on supporting WFP’s programmes aimed at addressing climate change challenges to Iraq, supporting youth through livelihood skills training and access to finance and supporting Government through strengthening Government social protection systems.
anil Chandrika

anil Chandrika

UNOPS
Country Manager, UNOPS - Iraq
anil of India joined UNOPS Operational Hub in Amman in October 2023 as Country Manager for Iraq.
He has over 25 years of experience in Programme Management and Support, Public Sector Reform and Governance as well as Development.
anil has worked mostly in conflict and post-conflict countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria with different UN Agencies including UNDP, UN Women and UNHCR.
He holds holds a Master of Philosophy in Education (Development Studies), a Diploma in Federalism, Certificate in Development Studies and Master in Social Work.
Auke Lootsma

Auke Lootsma

UNDP
Resident Representative for UNDP Iraq
 
 
Auke Lootsma is the Resident Representative for UNDP Iraq office since 28 November 2022, ‎before this he was the Resident Representative of UNDP Yemen office from February 2019 to ‎November 2022. He started in Yemen as Country Director in August 2016. ‎
His career with UNDP began in 1994. In the recent past, he was the Country Director in ‎Rwanda; Senior Recovery Advisor in Ukraine; Deputy Country Director (Programme) in Sudan; ‎and Deputy Resident Representative (Programme) in Uganda. Mr. Lootsma holds a Master of ‎Science in Business Administration and Development Economics.‎
Christian Ritscher

Christian Ritscher

UNITAD
Special Adviser and Head of the Investigative Team
 
 
 
Christian Ritscher is an Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and serves as the Special Adviser and Head of the Investigative Team established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2379 (2017), to promote accountability efforts for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Da’esh/ISIL.
Mr. Ritscher previously served as a Federal Public Prosecutor at the German Federal Court of Justice, with more than 30 years of professional experience in international and domestic criminal law prosecutions and investigations. He was Head of the German War Crimes Unit S4, which is responsible for the prosecution and charging of individuals in Germany in relation to international crimes, that may have been committed elsewhere, including in Iraq and Syria. This included prosecutions against alleged members of ISIL (Da’esh) for genocide committed against the Yazidi community in Iraq in 2014, as well as other charges of international crimes.
Mr. Ritscher holds a law degree from the University of Passau and State Exam in Law of the Free State of Bavaria.
Dimiter Chalev

Dimiter Chalev

OHCHR
Principal Human Rights Officer, UNAMI HRO
 
Mr. Chalev brings a wealth of experience in the field of human rights, gained at both the headquarters and field locations while working with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Eric Buchot

Eric Buchot

ITC
Representative - Head of Programme
Eric Buchot leads ITC’s operations in Iraq which primarily focuses on strengthening agribusiness value chain and improving trade policy. With two decades of experience in the public and private sectors supporting trade competitiveness and development, he has worked on projects in more than 40 countries and across a range of economic sectors. Mr. Buchot has led some of ITC’s largest trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) initiatives, including in complex and post-conflict environments. Most recently, these have included the national trade strategies for Iran and Afghanistan.
Prior to joining ITC in 2006, Eric Buchot worked at UNCTAD’s Advisory Services on Investment and as a business unit manager for a global trading corporation. Mr. Buchot is also an Associate Professor at Grenoble Alps University, Faculty of Economy, European and International Studies.
Gazi Shbaikat

Gazi Shbaikat

IMF
Resident Representative
 
 
 
Gazi Shbaikat is the IMF Resident Representative for Iraq and Yemen since January 2021. Previously, Mr. Shbaikat worked in several countries in the Middle East and Central Asia Department in the IMF since 2010. Between 2006-2009, he worked in the Government of the Heshemite Kingdom of Jordan as Head of the National Statistics Office and Minister of Labour. Mr. Shbaikat holds Ph.D. in Economics.
Georges Alfred Ki-Zerbo (Prof.)

Georges Alfred Ki-Zerbo (Prof.)

WHO
WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Iraq
Professor Dr Georges Alfred Ki-Zerbo, a national of Burkina Faso, is the new WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Iraq. He took up the role on 15 December 2023.
He is a fervent advocate for universal health coverage, health security, human capital development and the promotion of health and well-being across the life cycle – all of which are needed to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Ki-Zerbo specializes in infectious diseases and epidemiology, with a focus on international health and development. He has honed his expertise in health, education, emergencies, and social and human development over a remarkable career that spans 3 decades.
Previously, Dr Ki-Zerbo was Director of the WHO Office to the African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (October 2021–December 2023). In this role, he played a pivotal part in advancing global and continental health initiatives. Prior to this, Dr Ki-Zerbo served as the WHO Representative in Guinea, based in Conakry (December 2016–October 2021).
His contributions to the field go even further back, dating from his time at the WHO Regional Office for Africa from 2004 to 2016. Among the key positions he held were Medical Officer for HIV/AIDS, Regional Advisor for Malaria, Coordinator of the Communicable Diseases Programme Area and Coordinator of the WHO Inter-Country Support Team for Central Africa.
In July 2014, during the West Africa Ebola virus outbreak, Dr Ki-Zerbo showed strong leadership by coordinating the set-up of a subregional public health emergency operations centre in Conakry, Guinea. His efforts were instrumental in briefing key stakeholders about the need for the PHEOC and about the outbreak situation. These stakeholders included the WHO Director-General, WHO Regional Director for Africa, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Guinea, Regional Sustainable Development Group, and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of States Ebola Response Council.
Dr Ki-Zerbo was the Acting United Nations Resident Coordinator in Guinea from November 2018 to May 2020. This role showcased his versatility and his commitment to address health and development challenges at both the regional and global levels.
Team

Ghaliah Faraj

UNIDO
Programme Officer
 
Ghaliah Faraj is a Programme Officer at Arab Bureau of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). She is from Kuwait where she was born and raised and holds an advanced degree in Global Management from the University of San Francisco. She joined UNIDO headquarters in Vienna as a JPO from Kuwait in 2015 in the Donor Relations department and moved on to the Arab Bureau in 2018.
Giorgi Gigauri

Giorgi Gigauri

IOM
Chief of Mission
 
 
Giorgi Gigauri joined the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2004. As Chief of Mission for IOM Iraq, since October 2021, he is also the Coordinator of the United Nations Network on Migration and Co-Chair of the UN Durable Solutions Taskforce.
Prior to his current appointment Mr. Gigauri, a Georgian national, was IOM Chief of Mission in Bangladesh, where he was the UN Co-Coordinator of the Rohingya Refugee Operation and co-led the points of entry pillar of the UN COVID-19 health emergency response. He has also served as the Chief of Mission in Papua New Guinea, working on community stabilization, peacebuilding, and humanitarian emergencies, including the 2015 drought crisis.
Mr. Gigauri has held various positions in the Asia-Pacific region and in Eastern Europe, focusing on humanitarian assistance, protection, and sustainable development. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Oxford and speaks three languages.
Jean-Nicolas Beuze

Jean-Nicolas Beuze

UNHCR
Representative
Jean-Nicolas Beuze worked for more than 23 years with the United Nations in the areas of Human Rights (OHCHR), Peacekeeping (DPKO) and Child Protection/education (UNICEF) at Headquarters and in the field (Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Afghanistan and the Middle-East and North Africa region) before joining UNHCR in Lebanon as Deputy Representative for Protection and Inter-Agency Coordination (2013/16). Prior to joining UNHCR, he was the UNICEF Child Protection Advisor for the MENA region (2010/13) after having been the Deputy Director of the Human Rights Unit of UN Peace-Keeping/DPKO mission in Afghanistan/UNAMA (2008/10). He previously worked as a Research Director in a human rights think-tank (International Council on Human Rights Policy). Prior to joining UNHCR in Iraq, he was the Representative in Yemen (2020/21) and in Canada (2017/19). Jean-Nicolas Beuze holds a LL.M in international human rights law from Essex University, UK, and a Master in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International Relations, Geneva/Switzerland.
Maha Katta

Maha Katta

ILO
Country Coordinator
Dr. Maha Kattaa is the ILO Country Coordinator in Iraq, overseeing a portfolio of projects and the implementation of the Iraq Decent Work Country Programme. Dr. Kattaa is also the Senior Resilience and Crisis Response Specialist for the ILO Regional Office for Arab States supporting Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, in addition to Iraq.
Between 2013 and 2018, Dr. Kattaa was leading the ILO Response to the Refugee Crisis in Jordan, which is a development-focused and employment-driven response aimed at facilitating equal access to the labour market and promoting decent work for all.
Dr. Maha Kattaa joined the ILO in 2009, following 12 years of experience in academic and governmental fields, including four years at the Syrian State Planning Commission and eight years in managing short and long-term projects with the EU and UNDP. She holds a PhD in International Law and a Master Degree in International Economic Relations and was an associate professor at Aleppo University and Damascus University between 2004-2013.
Monique OCHA

Monique Maani

OCHA
OCHA Head of Office
 
Monique Maani has a Master’s degree in Social Science and extensive experience in humanitarian affairs in the region. Monique has served as the Head of the Field Coordination Unit with OCHA Syria (2019-2022) and with UNAMI and UNDP in Iraq (2009-2011 & 2013-2018). She has also worked with UNDP as a coordination specialist in Libya (2012-2013) and as a Humanitarian Affairs Officer with UNMIS in Juba, South Sudan (2006-2008).
Mounir Tabet

Mounir Tabet

UN ESCWA
Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
 
Mr. Mounir Tabet (Canada) took up his official functions as Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on the 7th of September 2018.
Prior to this, Mr. Tabet served as the UNDP Country Director for Iraq (2016-2018) where he oversaw the program on stabilization and transition.
From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Tabet served as the UN & UNDP Resident Coordinator in Tunisia, providing support to the transition including on electoral support, constitution making, parliamentary effectiveness and anti-corruption.
Previously, Mr. Tabet was the Country Director of UNDP Egypt (2007-2013) where he led support to development efforts. From 2004-2007 he was the Senior Program Advisor in the Regional Bureau for Arab States in UNDP HQ in New York.
Previously, Mr. Tabet was Edward S. Mason fellow at Harvard University – the Kennedy School of Government. There, he completed a Masters degree in Public Administration. He also holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Ottawa.
Between 1989 and 2003, Mr Tabet served in a variety of country and HQ positions with UNDP. Prior to joining UNDP, Mr. Tabet worked with the North South Institute and the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa and the University of Ottowa.
Muslim Qazimi_Head of UN-Habitat ad interim

Muslim Qazimi

UN-Habitat
Head of UN-Habitat ad interim
Mr. Muslim Qazimi (Kosovo) has been the Head of UN-Habitat ad interim since September 2023. Previously he was working as Deputy Head of UN-Habitat in Iraq. He joined UN-Habitat in 2018, serving as Chair of the Housing, Land and Property Sub-cluster under humanitarian response and also as Programme Manager managing various projects. He holds a postgraduate/master’s degree in Public Administration and Political Sciences.
Mustafa Al-Kadhimi

Mustafa Al-Kadhimi

UNV
Country Coordinator
 
Mustafa Al-Kadhimi assumed the role of Country Coordinator for the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program in Iraq in 2023. With 18 years of experience in the professional sector, Mr. Al-Kadhimi has expertise in Program Management, Procurement, Finance, Administration, and Human Resources. He most recently served as HR Associate at UNDP Iraq for 8 years, and prior to that, he worked as Senior Administrator/Finance at IOM Iraq for 7 years.
Mustafa holds a Bachelor's degree in Technical Analysis from Technical University in Baghdad, Iraq.
Nestor Owomuhangi

Nestor Owomuhangi

UNFPA
Representative
 
 
Mr. Nestor Owomuhangi, a national of Uganda, assumed his responsibilities as the UNFPA Representative to Iraq at the end of February 2023. Prior to joining the Iraq Country Office, he served as the Deputy Representative and Representative at the Yemen Country Office. While in Yemen, Mr. Owomuhangi successfully positioned UNFPA as a key humanitarian player, ensuring that UNFPA assumed leadership of the Rapid Response Mechanism through which UN’s frontline relief assistance is provided to populations fleeing fighting and natural disasters.
Mr. Owomuhangi is not new to Iraq. Before his assignment in Yemen, he served as the UNFPA Deputy Representative for Iraq Country Office from 2014 to 2018. Where he helped expand and manage a complex humanitarian and development operation, including the humanitarian response for the liberation of Mosul City. Prior to joining Iraq, he worked as the International Programme Specialist for the UNFPA Country Office in Lesotho from 2008 to 2014 and as a National Programme Officer at UNFPA Uganda Country Office from 1999, initially on secondment to UNHCR as a Reproductive Health Focal Point.
Mr. Owomuhangi brings over 28 years of experience in the humanitarian and development sector, much of which has been with UNFPA and the UN system. He holds a master’s degree in Population and Reproductive Health from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Paolo Fontani

Paolo Fontani

UNESCO
Director and Representative
 
Paolo Fontani has rich experience working with UNESCO, including roles as Director of the UNESCO Office in Afghanistan and Director of the Liaison Office in Brussels and Representative to the European Institutions. Paolo has been building on UNESCO’s longstanding cooperation with Iraq in order to successfully manage one of UNESCO’s most ambitious country programmes in terms of its global portfolio, supported by significant funding commitments from the donor community.
Pehr Lodhammar

Pehr Lodhammar

UNMAS
Chief Mine Action Programme
Mr. Pehr Lodhammar is the Chief Mine Action Programme in Iraq, managing all international and national staff in the program, in addition to donor relations and resource mobilization. As a key advocate for the mine action sector in Iraq, he is often involved with coordination with the highest levels of the Iraqi government, and represents UNMAS at international venues and conferences. Mr. Lodhammar holds a Master’s Degree in International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, and has more than 31 years of military and humanitarian mine action experience.
Salah Elhajjhassan

Salah Elhajjhassan

FAO
Representative
 
Mr Hajj Hassan, a national of Lebanon, holds a Ph.D. in Plant Production from the University of Agriculture, Damascus, Syria; a Master of Science degree in Plant Production and a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering, both from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
He started his career in 1984, as Senior Research Assistant in the Agricultural Research and Education Centre (AREC), American University of Beirut. From 1987 to 1991, he was Coordinator of the Student Training Programme, and also Agriculture and Horticultural Teacher for the Faculty of Agriculture, at the Lebanese University.
From 1991 to 1995, he worked as Agricultural Engineer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Bekaa Regional Office, Zahlah and was then assigned to the Agricultural Research Institute in the Tal Amara station, first as Head of the Crop Production Department and subsequently in charge of the Plant Protection Laboratory. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the Kfardane Research Station (Agricultural Research Institute). In 2008, he became Visiting Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and Coordinator of a project with the International Centre for Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.
In 2010, he served as Advisor to the Minister for Agriculture of Lebanon. In 2011, he became President of the Pesticide Scientific Committee, Head of the Phytoplasma Committee and Director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (ARDP) (EU-funded project). From 2010 to 2013, he represented Lebanon in negotiations with EU, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. During his career, Mr Hajj Hassan also carried out a number of other functions. He represented the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) in several research programmes with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the American University of Beirut. He was Coordinator of the Mashreq/Maghreb project with ICARDA, representing Lebanon in the Steering Committee, as well as being the Head of the Sugar-beet Delivery and of the Wheat Delivery Committees. For a number of years, Mr Hajj Hassan worked for the preparation of FAO TCP projects and served as the National Director of a TCP project. He joined FAO in January 2014 as FAO Representative in Yemen. Mr Hajj Hassan succeeds Mr El Zubi as FAO Representative in Iraq.
Sami Dimassi

Sami Dimassi

UNEP
Director and Regional Representative of UNEP Regional Office for West Asia
 
“With over 20 years of experience in management, Mr. Dimassi has extensive experience in multi-lateral and international relations, corporate and policy reform, intergovernmental affairs, strategy design and private sector engagement. Mr. Sami Dimassi joined the UNEP Regional Office for West Asia as Director and Regional Representative in 2017. He held several senior positions in the UN System, such as Senior ICT Advisor, Head of the Innovation Branch, Deputy Director of the Science division, Director of Private Sector Engagement, and Acting Director of Corporate Services all within UNEP. A Lebanese-Canadian national, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Ottawa University and a master’s in Management from Waterloo University in Canada.”
Sandra Lattouf

Sandra Lattouf

UNICEF
UNICEF Representative in Iraq
 
 
From July 2020 to June 2023, Ms. Lattouf was the UNICEF Representative in Burkina Faso. Previously, she was the UNICEF Representative in Gambia (2017-2020) and the Deputy Representative in Sierra Leone (2015-2017). She also held numerous positions in UNICEF, including at headquarters in New York, as well as in country and field offices, notably in Haiti, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Prior to joining UNICEF, Ms. Lattouf worked for the international NGO Solidarités (1999-2002) as a Nutrition Programme Coordinator and served in Bujumbura, Burundi; Goma, DRC; and Paris, France.
Ms. Lattouf is a national of Lebanon. She holds an advanced university degree in Nutrition and Food Security from the University of Montpellier in France; a Master’s Degree in Biochemistry and a License in Chemistry from the University of Sciences and Techniques in Tours in France.
The new Representative will play a critical role in steering the UNICEF Country Office in Iraq in supporting the Government of Iraq in fulfilling their commitments on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in partnership with UN partners and other stakeholders, with a focus on most vulnerable children.
Tawfiq El-Zabri

Tawfiq El-Zabri

IFAD
Country Director
 
Mr Tawfiq El-Zabri is IFAD’s Country Director for Iraq and Yemen since October 2022. Prior to this assignment, Tawfiq managed IFAD country programmes in the Pacific Island countries, Philippines, Pakistan, Jordan, Somalia and the occupied Palestinian territories. He brings a global development practitioner experience covering more than 35 countries in the Middle East, Horn of Africa, Eastern Europe, South and East Asia and the Pacific region; and engagements with the World Bank, IMF and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Areas of expertise include rural development, agricultural commodity chains and agricultural advisory services, inclusive financial services, migration and remittances, organisational capacity building and adaptive management in service delivery projects. Tawfiq is based in Cairo, at IFAD’s multi-country office for Near East and North Africa.