SG/A/935
AFR/1221
BIO/3673*
1 August 2005
Biographical Note
Secretary-General Appoints Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands as Personal Envoy for Western Sahara
NEW YORK, 29 July (UN Headquarters) -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara. Mr. van Walsum served as his country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, representative on the Security Council and Chairman of the Iraq Sanctions Committee from 1999 to 2000.
He retired from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 2001, having served since 1963 in a number of positions. From 1965 through 1981 he served in the Permanent Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Paris; the Embassy in Bucharest; the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York; the Embassy in both New Delhi and London; and the Permanent Mission to the European Commission in Brussels.
Prior to joining the Dutch Foreign Ministry, Mr. van Walsum worked for Civil Emergency Planning in the Ministry of General Affairs from 1962 to 1963 and was in military service from 1960 to 1962.
Mr. van Walsum was born in Rotterdam on 25 June 1934 and attained his Law degree from the University of Utrecht in 1959. He is married and has four children.
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* This press release supersedes Press Release BIO/3213 of 21 December 1998.
