The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has appointed Aisa Kirabo Kacyira of Rwanda as the new Head of the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), taking over from Lisa Filipetto of Australia.
Kacyira is an experienced diplomat with over 30 years of experience in diplomacy, community and political engagement at local, national and international levels. She has served as the resident High Commissioner to the Government of Ghana and a non-resident representative to Benin, Togo, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, and Liberia since 2020.
Before her current position, Kacyira served as Governor of the Eastern Province, Rwanda’s largest province, in 2011 and was also the Executive Mayor of Kigali from 2006 to 2011. She actively participated in Parliament’s legislative and oversight functions and community mobilization while serving as a Member of Parliament between 2003 and 2006.
In addition to her political and diplomatic roles, Kacyira has held several development and humanitarian assistance positions, notably as Deputy Executive Director with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) from 2011 to 2018. She has also worked in program and project management with the Ministry of Agriculture in Rwanda, as well as various NGOs, including Oxfam and Care International.
Kacyira holds a Master of Veterinarian Science in Animal Production and Economics from James Cook University in Australia and a Bachelor of Veterinarian Medicine from Makerere University in Uganda.
As the new Head of UNSOS, Kacyira will be responsible for providing administrative and logistical support, such as living and office accommodation, food, water, transportation, medical facilities, and finance and human resources support to UNSOM, the political mission in all regions of Somalia.
Kacyira’s appointment comes at a crucial time for Somalia, as the country continues to face humanitarian political and security challenges.
