United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of David McLachlan-Karr of Australia as his Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), where he will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator.

Mr. McLachlan-Karr brings to the position 26 years of development and humanitarian experience with the United Nations. He has served in a wide range of emergency field assignments including Somalia, the Caucasus, Kosovo, Darfur, Timor Leste and Iraq. From 2004-2016, he served as United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative at various posts in Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone and Jordan. David McLachlan-Karr was seconded to the World Economic Forum as a Senior Adviser in 2016. In 2017, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Special Representative and Resident Coordinator in Guinea-Bissau, a position he held until his appointment as Deputy Special Representative ad interim with MONUSCO in June 2019.

Prior to joining the United Nations in 1993, Mr. McLachlan-Karr was an Australian diplomat.

Born in 1961, he holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and law from the University of Queensland.