NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CANADA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG

Elissa Golberg, the new Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented her credentials to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Prior to her appointment to Geneva, Ms. Golberg served as the Director General of the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, from April 2009 to August 2011. In this role she provided policy leadership on conflict prevention, humanitarian affairs, peacekeeping and peacebuilding issues. She also coordinated Canada’s response to natural disasters abroad and managed the $146 million Global Peace and Security Fund.

Ms. Golberg has been a member of the Canadian diplomatic service since 1996, and has worked on a range of peace and security issues. She has participated in the management of the Canadian Government’s response team to several conflicts and natural disasters, including in Afghanistan, Sudan and Lebanon. She most recently took a leading role as Co-ordinator of the Government of Canada’s 2010 Haiti Earthquake Task Force. Ms. Golberg served as the Representative of Canada in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from February 2008 to January 2009. As the senior Canadian civilian envoy in southern Afghanistan she led a multi-agency team that was responsible for delivering on Canada’s governance and development objectives. From October 2008 to January 2009 Ms. Golberg was the Executive Director of the Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan (‘the Manley Panel’) at the Privy Council Office. Prior to that Ms. Golberg held various positions and responsibilities within the Department of Foreign Affairs, including serving as the Senior Director of the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force and as Director of the Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Response Division.

Ms. Golberg holds a Master’s degree in international relations and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history. She is a recipient of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and International Security Assistance Force General Service medal, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, the Public Service Award of Excellence and three Ministers’ Awards for Foreign Policy Excellence. Ms. Golberg was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010, and has published several articles on humanitarian topics.

Ms. Golberg is married.



For use of the information media; not an official record

CR11/028E