UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has officially named veteran Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura to be the new UN point man on Syria. He has a mandate to try to end the conflict, now in its fourth year.
Born in Stockholm, de Mistura had a 40-year career with the United Nations and recently served as Deputy Foreign Minister in the Italian government headed by Mario Monti.
Unlike Lakhdar Brahimi, de Mistura will not be the joint envoy of the UN and the Arab League. Ban announced that Egyptian Ambassador Ramzi Ezzeddine Ramzi, who was recommended by the Arab League, will be de Mistura’s deputy.
Brahimi resigned in May after nearly two years of failed efforts to end Syria’s worsening civil war.
