SG/A/966
AFR/1309
BIO/3726
29 December 2005

Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Jordan Ryan of United States as Deputy Special Representative for Liberia

NEW YORK, 28 December (UN Headquarters) -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Jordan Ryan of the United States as his Deputy Special Representative for Recovery and Good Governance for Liberia, effective 1 January 2006.

Mr. Ryan, who will also serve as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Liberia, has had a long and distinguished career with the United Nations.  He is currently the United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Viet Nam.  Prior to that appointment, Mr. Ryan served as the Director of the UNDP Office of the Administrator in New York from 1997 to 2001.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Ryan held the positions of UNDP Deputy Resident Representative and Senior Assistant Resident Representative in Viet Nam.  He was also the UNDP Assistant Resident Representative in China.  Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Ryan worked as a consultant and as an attorney in New York and California.

Born on 29 August 1950, Mr. Ryan holds a master's degree in international and public affairs from Columbia University.  He is married and has one daughter.

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