UNMIK/PR/808
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has announced the appointment of Francesco Bastagli as his Deputy Special Representative in Kosovo (UNMIK). Mr. Bastagli took up his duties in Pristina yesterday to be in charge of UNMIK’s Pillar for Civil Administration.
Mr. Bastagli succeeds Mr. Tom Koenigs, who joined UNMIK shortly after it was established in 1999. Under Mr. Koenigs’ leadership, the foundations of a modern civil administration in Kosovo were laid and basic administrative structures were established from scratch at the provincial and municipal levels. Mr. Koenigs will continue to serve the United Nations, as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Guatemala.
Mr. Bastagli, who has devoted his entire career to the United Nations, has expertise in development issues, as well as in drug control and crime prevention. Over the last three years, he has served as the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mr. Bastagli began his career in administration and had assignments with UNHCR in Nicaragua and with the UN Conference for the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy in Vienna. From 1986 to 1991, he was Chief of the Executive Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). From 1991 to 1999, he worked for the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, where he became Director of the International Drug Control Programme.
