Lakhdar Brahimi appointed New Joint Special Representative of UN and Arab League for Syria

Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi was appointed the new joint special representative of the UN and the League of Arab States for Syria on 17 August 2012. Brahimi, the former Algerian Foreign Minister, will replace Kofi Annan, who had stepped down as UN and Arab League joint special envoy to Syria on 2 August 2012.

Brahimi, who served as Algeria’s foreign minister from 1991 to 1993, joined UN in 1994 and served various high profile positions until he retired in 2005. Brahimi also has a vast experience of working with Arab nations. He served as under-secretary-general of the Arab League from 1984 to 1991.He also served as the Arab League's special envoy to Lebanon from 1989 to 1991, mediating the end of a civil war in that country.

Brahimi's appointment to the high profile poition came a day after the UN Security Council decided to set up a new political liaison center in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on 16 February demanding the heads of the UN and the Arab League to appoint a special envoy for Syria, a country which has been troubled by prolonged tension and violence between anti-government protesters and rebels and the forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was appointed the UN and Arab League’s joint special envoy to Syria on 23 February 2012.