SG/A/987
BIO/3748
8 March 2006

Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Larry Johnson of United States as Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs

NEW YORK, 7 February (UN Headquarters) -- The Secretary-General today announced the appointment of Larry D. Johnson of the United States as Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, in succession to Ralph Zacklin.  He will assume his new functions on 1 May 2006.

Mr. Johnson formerly served as the Legal Adviser of the International Atomic Energy Agency (1997-2001) and Chef de Cabinet, Office of the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (2003-2005).  He joined the United Nations Secretariat in 1971 as an Assistant Legal Officer in the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs and last served at Headquarters as Principal Legal Officer in the Office of the Legal Counsel of the Office of Legal Affairs (1989-1997).

Currently, Mr. Johnson is Professor of Global Affairs at New York University's Center for Global Affairs and Visiting Professor of International Law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.  Previously, he was Visiting Professor of International Law at the University of California, Davis, School of Law and at the New England School of Law.

Mr. Johnson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Society of International Law and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Mr. Johnson graduated from the University of Nebraska (Bachelor of Arts), Harvard Law School (Juris Doctor) and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (Master in Public Administration).

He was born on 12 October 1945.

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