Khassim Diagne, a seasoned United Nations diplomat from Senegal, is the leading candidate to assume the role of Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus and head of UNFICYP. Both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides have given their consent, and final approval is expected from the three guarantor powers, paving the way for the UN to officially announce his appointment around the end of August.
Diagne is set to succeed Colin Stewart, who is retiring from the organisation. As senior UN official, his name has already been presented to both sides on the island.
Last Saturday, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis confirmed that the government had agreed to a UN proposal concerning the replacement of the outgoing Special Representative, without naming a successor. Information obtained by *Politis* indicates that the Turkish Cypriot side has also given its consent, while the three guarantor powers; Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, are expected to respond positively. If no objections arise, his name will be made public by late August.
The Senegalese diplomat is expected to take on this critical role at a particularly challenging time for the Cyprus problem, with no direct talks between the two sides for over seven years. The ongoing stalemate has been a source of concern for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who in recent months launched a new initiative of informal trilateral meetings with the involved parties. The aim is to achieve progress at least on a low-political level, in hopes of breaking the deadlock and paving the way for formal negotiations. In this context, the new Special Representative’s role will be pivotal, as in addition to his UNFICYP duties, he will be tasked with supporting Guterres’ efforts to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.
Who is Khassim Diagne
Born in Senegal, Khassim Diagne has served since 1 October 2024 as Acting Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations in Mali.
From February to May 2024, he was Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, advising on the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).
Between March 2021 and January 2024, Diagne held the position of Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations at the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). His responsibilities included the protection of civilians, support for stabilisation and peace consolidation efforts, and safeguarding humanitarian workers and human rights defenders.
Earlier in his career, he served at UN Headquarters in New York as Director of the Political Unit in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), overseeing humanitarian, human rights, and peace-related matters, and acting as a senior political adviser to the Secretary-General between 2017 and 2021.
Diagne also has extensive experience in migration and refugee protection, having served as Regional Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the United States and the Caribbean.
He holds a Master of Arts from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States.
