Head of UN Peace-building office appointed

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Samuel Nana-Sinkam, a Cameroonian national, as his representative in Guinea Bissau and head of UNOGBIS, the UN Peace-building Support Office in the West African nation. According to a UN press release, Nana-Sinkam was the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in the Republic of Congo since 1995. Before that, he was the FAO Director-General's representative at the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)and the director of the joint ECA/FAO Division on Agriculture in Addis Ababa from 1987 to 1995. Nana-Sinkam joined the United Nations in 1967 as an economist with the FAO. He has also held various posts in his country's government and at the International Monetary Fund, including that of IMF executive director for 21 African countries.