United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Dirk Wagener of Germany as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Fiji, effective July 15.
Mr Wagener will also coordinate the UN’s development operations in Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
He has more than 20 years of experience in the United Nations system, serving in various capacities in the fields of sustainable development and poverty reduction, peacebuilding and conflict prevention, gender equality, humanitarian assistance, green economy and environmental protection.
Before his appointment to Fiji, he served as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea.
Mr Wagener chaired the intergovernmental negotiations between the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville Government on the implementation of the Bougainville Peace Agreement.
He has a master’s degree in international agricultural sciences (rural development) and his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany.