Catriona Laing, the former British High Commissioner to Nigeria has been appointed by the United Nations as Special Representative for Somalia. Laing was also appointed to head the UN mission in Somalia.
Laing was announced by UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, to head the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), in a letter obtained by DiplomaticWatch.
Somalia is an East African country with a population estimate of about 17.1 million. Also, over 2 million Somalis lives in the capital.
According to Guterres, Laing from United Kingdom will replace James Swan of the United States of America.
The Secretary-General described Swan as a dedicated and steadfast leader in whom he is grateful to for leading the UNSOM during his tenure.
For over 35 years, Laing has been active in the areas of diplomacy, development and international relations.
According to the letter by the UN Secretary-General, Liang experience “including having held United Kingdom government policy roles in various departments at the national and international levels” is a commendable feat.
For about six years, Laing served as the British High Commissioner to Nigeria from November 2018 to April 2023, having served as British Ambassador to Zimbabwe for four years (2014-2018).
In 1993 to 1994, Laing had served as head of the UN Development Office in Somalia, a position which will serve a great advantage to her new role as Special Representative to Somalia.
A part of the letter reads: “In addition to her diplomatic roles, Ms. Laing has held several positions in government policy and international development, notably as Deputy Head of the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit (2000-2004), Director for Human Rights at the Ministry of Justice (2009-2012) and as the Head of the Department for International Development in Sudan (2006-2009).”
In he academic pursuit, “Laing holds an MSc degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master’s in Business Administration from Cranfield University, both in the United Kingdom.”
The new head of the UNSOM will work in line with the UN guidelines in Somalia. Somalia is said to be witnessing drought at the moment.
Liang took to her social media account to acknowledge the new appointment.
“I am delighted to be taking up the role of UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for #Somalia,” Laing wrote.
In another development, Somalia began the evacuation process of its citizens from Sudan as more than 100 Somalis returned from Khartoum on Sunday night.
DiplomaticWatch gathered that more flights are expected to continue the evacuation process as the crisis is Sudan worsen.