NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GAMBIA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO ACTING DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG

Yusupha A. Kah, the new Permanent Representative of the Gambia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented his credentials to Michael Møller, the Acting Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Prior to his appointment in Geneva, Mr. Kah served as Ambassador to France and Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization with concurrent accreditation to Hungary, Romania and Switzerland, as well as the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, a position he took up in August 2014. Mr. Kah has had a distinguished career which includes several ministerial portfolios within his Government. Between 2009 and 2011 he served consecutively as the Gambia’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Employment, the Minister of Economic Planning and Industrial Development, the Minister of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment, and the Minister of Works, Construction and Infrastructure.

Mr. Kah has had a long diplomatic career. From October 2002 until August 2005 he undertook a tour of duty to Belgium where he served as Ambassador and Head of Mission to the European Commission, with concurrent accreditation to several other States and organizations. Between 1993 and 2002, and between 2005 and 2009, Mr. Kah was served his country in eight Permanent and Deputy-Permanent Secretary positions in several Departments of State and Ministries of the Gambia. Those included the Ministry and Department of State of Finance and Economic Affairs, the Office of the Vice-President, the Department of State for Trade, Industry and Employment, the Department of State for Communication and Information Technology, and the Department of State for the Interior.

Earlier in his professional career Mr. Kah worked as an economist and researcher in the Office of the President, from 1988 until 1993, finally acting as Director of the Policy Analysis Unit. His career began in 1983 in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Industrial Development, when Mr. Kah worked as a budget officer. He was also a Board Member at Keystone Bank Limited in the Gambia from October 2012 until May 2014.

Mr. Kah has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from the Lewis Clark State College of Idaho in the United States, and a Master of Science in Economic Policy and Planning from the North Eastern University of Massachusetts, also in the United States. He is an Officer of the National Order of The Republic of The Gambia, an award bestowed in 2010. Mr. Kah is married.



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CR15/067E