United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 2 May 2023 the appointment of Leonardo Santos Simão of Mozambique as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) and Chairman of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission.
Mr. Simão succeeds Annadif Khatir Mahamat Saleh of Chad, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and leadership of UNOWAS and the Mixed Commission.
Bringing to these positions more than 30 years of experience in public administration and international affairs, Mr. Simão served as Special Envoy for the Government of Mozambique from 2021 to 2022.  From 2009 to 2014, he was the Chairman of the Peace Mediation Technical Team for Madagascar of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Previously, he served as Mozambique’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (1994-2005) and Minister for Health (1988-1994). Mr. Simão was also Executive Director of the Joaquim Chissano Foundation (Mozambique).
Mr. Simão holds a master’s degree in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and is fluent in English, French and Portuguese.
