United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Anita Kiki Gbeho as his new Special Representative for South Sudan and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

She succeeds the late Mr Nicholas Haysom of South Africa, whose dedication and leadership in advancing peace within the UN system were acknowledged by the Secretary-General.

Ms Gbeho brings to the role more than 25 years of experience in political, development and humanitarian affairs, having served in diverse conflict and post-conflict settings including Angola, Cambodia, Iraq, Namibia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.

Since 2024, she has served as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General at UNMISS and as the Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator in South Sudan, where she has periodically served as Officer-in-Charge.

Her previous appointments include Deputy Special Representative (Political) in the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) from 2021 to 2023, Deputy Joint Special Representative of the AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) from 2018 to 2020, and Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Namibia from 2015 to 2018.

Ms Gbeho also served as Chief of Section in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York, and Head of Office for OCHA in Somalia and South Sudan.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences and African Studies from the State University of New York, USA, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Ghana, Legon.