Senior Iraqi Posting for Shearer

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named New Zealander David Shearer as his deputy special representative for Iraq. Shearer will also serve as Iraq’s UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator. “David’s a pretty special guy. He’s hugely regarded by those he works with and people within the UN,” said NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff, who went to Papatoetoe High School with Shearer. “He’ll do as good a job as can be done in a situation that is clearly having tragic consequences in the sheer loss of life and sectarian violence.” David Shearer has worked for the UN since 1995, in such global hotspots as Lebanon, Serbia and Rwanda. He has headed the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Jerusalem since February 2003.