10 March 2008 –Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Kai Eide of Norway as his Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).  Mr. Eide replaces Mr. Tom Koenigs of Germany, who completed his assignment in December 2007. 

Mr. Eide previously served with the United Nations as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to undertake a comprehensive review of Kosovo in 2005 and as Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997-98. 

Mr. Eide has been a member of the Norwegian foreign service since 1975. His diplomatic career includes postings as Special Adviser on the Balkans at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Norway’s Ambassador at the International Conference for the former Yugoslavia, with special negotiating responsibility for Croatia.  He also served as Permanent Representative of Norway to NATO and as the Norwegian Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including as Chairman of the OSCE Permanent Council.

Mr. Eide holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Oslo where he studied political science, international law, French and literature. Born in 1949, he is married and has two daughters.

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