Leadership

Mr. Azouz Ennifar
Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General
 
Mr. Azouz Ennifar of Tunisia was appointed Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea in July 2005. He has held the position of Acting Special Representative since August 2006 and is based in Addis Ababa.
 
Mr. Ennifar had a distinguished career with the foreign service of Tunisia. From 2002 to 2005 he was Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo with accreditation to the Republic of Congo.  He has served as Ambassador to Indonesia, Brazil and Italy and has worked in the Tunisian embassy in Paris as Chargé d'Affaires. In 1994 He was appointed Ambassador to the United States, with accreditation to Mexico and Venezuela.  Mr. Ennifar has also represented the Tunisian Government at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
 
Earlier in his career, Mr. Ennifar worked with Tunisia’s Ministry of National Economy.  He was the Managing Director of the Export Promotion Centre, a Government institution shaping Tunisia's foreign trade.  He is a co-founder of the Association des Études Internationales, a non-profit organization focused on diplomatic studies.
 
Mr. Ennifar was born in Tunis on 30 April 1945.  He studied in Tunis, Nice, and Paris and is married with three children.

 

Mr. Lebohang Kenneth Moleko

Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General

Dr. Lebohang Moleko was appointed Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General with the rank of Assistant Secretary-General in September 2006, based in Asmara. Prior to taking up the position, Dr. Moleko worked as a consultant for the UNICEF Liaison Office to the African Union in Addis Ababa.

Dr. Moleko was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Lesotho to the UN from 2001 to 2005, with extra-accreditation to the Republic of Cuba.  He was President of the UNICEF Executive Board in 2004 and Vice-President in 2003, representing the Africa region.

From 1999-2001, Dr. Moleko was Lesotho’s Ambassador to the USA, with extra-accreditation to the Republic of Mexico. He became Lesotho’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China in 1994 and is credited with reopening Lesotho’s Embassy in Beijing and forging close Sino-Lesotho ties. From Beijing Ambassador Moleko had extra-accreditation to Japan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Thailand. He was also High Commissioner to India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

Dr. Moleko obtained an Advanced Certificate in Conflict Management at the Centre for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland in 2000. He holds a Doctorate Degree in Physics from the University of Ottawa, Canada. Before becoming a career diplomat, he was Associate Professor of Physics and Head of Department at the National University of Lesotho and during the same period, was a visiting Scientist in the Physics Department of the University of Alberta. He was also a Research Associate in the Chemistry Department of the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Dr. Moleko has published many papers in peer reviewed journals. Recognized as a Professional Physicist, he is a member of the Canadian Association of Physicists and a life member of the American Physical Society.

Dr. Moleko was born on 12 October 1950 in Maseru. He is married with four children.

 

Mr. Joseph  J. Stephanides

Head of UNMEE Office, Addis Ababa

Mr. Joseph J. Stephanides was appointed Head of the Office at UNMEE’s Addis Ababa headquarters by the UN Secretary-General in September 2006.  

Before joining the United Nations in September 1980, Mr. Stephanides held diplomatic postings with the Cypriot Foreign Service in Bonn, Washington DC and New York, including that of Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

In his career with the UN, Mr. Stephanides has served as Director, Security Council Affairs Division, Department of Political Affairs. He has also been Deputy Director, Security Council Affairs Division and Chief of the Sanctions Branch in the Department of Political Affairs and Chief, Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch at the Security Council Affairs Division, Department of Political Affairs. He was also Deputy Director, West Asia Division, in the Department of Political Affairs.

Mr. Stephanides’ broad experience in UN peacekeeping missions includes service as Head of the Office of the Secretary General in Iran (UNOSGI) in connection with the implementation of Security Council Resolution 598 (1987) on ending the war between Iraq and Iran and regional security issues.  He was also Head of the Kamanjab and Sesfontein Political Office of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) in Namibia.

Other posts held by Mr. Stephanides include Senior External Relations Officer at the UN Centre for Science and Technology for Development, and Deputy Chief, New York Office of the United Nations Division of Human Rights.

Mr. Stephanides holds an L.L.B degree from Athens University, Greece, and an L.L.M in International Legal Studies from the New York University School of Law.  In addition, he pursued postgraduate studies at the Georgetown University School of Law, and Bonn University School of Law.

Born on 12 September 1945, Mr. Stephanides is married and has two daughters.

 

Brigadier Patrick E O’R-B Davidson-Houston

Acting Force Commander

Brigadier Patrick Davidson-Houston from the United Kingdom was appointed Acting Force Commander of UNMEE on 8 July 2008, having been Deputy Force Commander from 31 May 2008.  Before arriving in Ethiopia he was Chief of Staff at the Force HQ UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) having initially been deployed to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in November 2007.

Before his secondment to the UN, Brigadier Davidson-Houston was the Commander, Operational Support Group, UK Land Warfare Centre where he was responsible for pre-deployment training and mission support for UK troops on operations worldwide. In 2005 he served with HQ Multi-National Forces (Iraq) in Baghdad on Op IRAQI FREEDOM/Op TELIC as Deputy in the Strategy, Plans & Assessment Staff Division.

Brigadier Davidson-Houston was Director of the General Staff in the UK Ministry of Defence from 2003 – 2004.  From 2001 – 2003 he was Commander of the UK Joint Task Force, Military Assistant to the Government of Sierra Leone and Commander of the International Military Advisory & Training Team (IMATT) on Op SILKMAN working alongside UNAMSIL. He commanded the 8th Infantry Brigade on Op BANNER from 1998 – 2000 on counter-terrorist and public order operations in Northern Ireland.  As Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, he served with UNPROFOR in Bosnia- Herzogovina, commanding the Gorazde Force in 1994/95.

In 2001, Brigadier Davidson-Houston attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in London studying International Relations.  He is a graduate of the UK Army Staff College, the Technical Course at the Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) Shrivenham (1986) and the General Staff Course at Camberley (1987). He held a University Cadetship as an Infantry officer at RMCS from 1972-1975 graduating with a BSc in Civil Engineering. He attended The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1975. His Regiment amalgamated in 2007 and is now The Rifles.

Brigadier Davidson-Houston is married with two daughters and a son.

 

Brigadier General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq

Deputy Force Commander and Chief Military Observer

Brigadier General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq from Bangladesh was appointed Deputy Force Commander and Chief Military Observer of UNMEE on 4 January 2007.

Brigadier General Belal has served as an Aide-de-Camp to the President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. He has also served as Chief Instructor at the Faculty of Defence Services Command and Staff College, Bangladesh, and as Instructor at the Bangladesh Military Academy.

Brigadier General Belal has commanded an Armoured and an Infantry Brigade and two Armoured Regiments. He was Commandant of the Bangladesh Military Academy and the Armoured Corps Centre and School. He has served as the Chief of Staff of an Infantry Division and as a Brigade Major (Operations Staff).

From 1988 to 1989, Brigadier General Belal served as a Military Observer with the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIIMOG).

Brigadier General Belal holds a Master’s Degree in Defence Studies from the National University of Bangladesh. He attended the National Defence College and Defence Services Command and StaffCollege in Mirpur, Bangladesh. He also trained at the US Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth.

Brigadier General Belal was commissioned in the Armoured Corps of the Bangladesh Army in June 1978. He is a graduate of the Bangladesh Military Academy, where he received the Sword of Honour as Best Officer Cadet.

Brigadier General Belal was born in Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh, in 1958.