United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of David McLachlan-Karr of Australia as his new Deputy Special Representative in Guinea-Bissau. Mr. McLachlan-Karr will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Guinea-Bissau.
 

Mr. McLachlan-Karr succeeds Maria do Valle Ribeiro of Ireland, who completed her assignment in Guinea-Bissau in January. The Secretary-General is grateful for her contribution to United Nations peacebuilding efforts in Guinea-Bissau.

Mr. McLachlan-Karr brings 21 years of experience working with the United Nations, including on various assignments for UNDP and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Since November 2016, he has been serving as United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative ad interim in Jordan. Previously, Mr. McLachlan-Karr was on secondment from the United Nations to the World Economic Forum in Geneva, where he held the position of Senior Adviser on Public-Private Partnerships (2015-2016). Prior to that, he served as Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Sierra Leone, the Maldives, Papua New Guinea and Venezuela. Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. McLachlan-Karr held various positions in the Australian Foreign Service for eight years.

Born in 1961, he holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and International Law from the University of Queensland, Australia.