The United Nations has appointed Knut Ostby of Norway as ad interim United Nations Resident Coordinator in Myanmar where he will serve also on an ad interim basis as the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme. Mr. Ostby will serve in these functions from 1 November until further notice.
Mr. Ostby succeeds Renata Lok-Dessallien who will take on another assignment at headquarters after completing her tenure in Myanmar.
Mr. Ostby has extensive experience in development, human rights and humanitarian affairs from 17 countries and has served as United Nations Resident Coordinator for more than 11 years including in Timor Leste since 2013. Prior to that, he was United Nations Resident Coordinator in Fiji and nine other Pacific countries, and before that in Iran.
During his career with the United Nations, Mr. Ostby has held leadership positions in Afghanistan, Malaysia, Maldives, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and at headquarters in Copenhagen and New York.
Mr. Ostby holds a Master of Science degree from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim, and has conducted studies in development theory with the University of Uppsala in Sweden. He is married and has three children.
