Ms. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert

UN SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR LEBANON

United Nations Secretary-General appointed Ms. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of the Netherlands as his Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), on 20 May 2024.

Prior to taking up her position in Lebanon, Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (2018-2024).

Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert brings to this position over 25 years of experience in diplomacy, international security and Middle East affairs.  Prior to that, she was Minister of Defence of the Netherlands (2012-2017) – the first woman to hold this position.  She previously served as a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands (2010-2012) and as a member of the European Parliament (2004-2010).  Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert has also worked for the European Commission in Belgium and Latvia, as well as for the City of Amsterdam and in the private sector.

Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert is proficient in English, French and German and is a native Dutch speaker.

Mr. Imran Riza

UN DEPUTY SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR LEBANON

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Imran Riza of Pakistan as his Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, in the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), and Resident Coordinator for Lebanon.  Mr. Riza will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator.

Mr. Riza succeeds Najat Rochdi of Morocco, who recently completed her assignment and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her accomplishments and wishes her continued success in her new appointment as Deputy Special Envoy for Syria.

Mr. Riza brings over 35 years of international experience across the United Nations System, mainly in field settings.  For the past three years, he was in Syria as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator.  Prior to this, he served in Lebanon as Deputy Head of Mission and Director of the Division of Political Affairs, Civil Affairs and Strategic Communications of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).  He previously served as the Regional Representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UNHCR Representative for Jordan.  With UNHCR, he has also served in Geneva, Sudan, Hong Kong and Vietnam.  Mr. Riza has also held positions with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome and as Senior Adviser to the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for Lebanon, as well as with UNSCOL. 

Mr. Riza holds a master’s degree in Social-Cultural Anthropology from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from McGill University.  Mr. Riza speaks English, French and Urdu.

Mr. Neeraj Singh

CHIEF OF STAFF & PRINCIPAL POLITICAL AFFAIRS OFFICER

Neeraj Singh of India is Chief of Staff for UNSCOL and Principal Political Advisor to the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon since January 2022.

Mr. Singh brings 23 years of experience in the United Nations and more than 10 years with the Government of India.

He served with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon [UNIFIL] in different capacities, including as Mission Chief of Staff, Acting Director for the Division of Political and Civil Affairs, and Chief of Strategic Communications and Spokesperson. In 2012, he played a leading role in the United Nations Advance Team in Syria [UNATS] and was instrumental in the establishment of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS). Previously, he served as the United Nations Spokesperson in Kosovo.

As an Indian Allied Services officer, he held several senior positions in the Armed Forces of the Union, before moving to the United Nations on Foreign Service Assignment from the Government of India.

Prior to this, he worked as a journalist and authored several articles in India’s national newspapers ‘The Times of India’, ‘Economic Times’ and ‘The Hindustan Times’ on socio-political and security issues. While in Kosovo, he wrote a regular column in the leading newspaper ‘Koha Ditore’.

Mr. Singh holds a master’s degree in History and diploma in Defence Management from India’s College of Combat. He is married and has two daughters.