German Tom Koenigs Named UN Special Representative for Afghanistan

Appointment: Kofi Annan has appointed Tom Koenigs, left, as his special representative for Afghanistan.

“The German Government welcomes the decision by Kofi Annan to appoint Tom Koenigs as his special representative for Afghanistan and head of the UNAMA, the United Nations Afghanistan Mission,” Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said today.

“I congratulate Tom Koenigs on this challenging new duty which follows on his successful assignments for the United Nations in Kosovo and in Guatemala,” Steinmeier said in a statement.

Koenigs, Representative for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid in the Foreign Office since January 2005, served as Deputy Special Representative for Civil Administration of the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) from 1999 to 2002 and then as Head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA). Before his first United Nations appointment, Koenigs was active in state government in Hesse and in city government in Frankfurt am Main.

“The selection of Tom Koenigs is also recognition for the German commitment in Afghanistan,” Steinmeier emphasized. The foundations for the political and economic reconstruction of Afghanistan were created with the agreement signed on the Petersberg near Bonn in December 2001. Germany has supported this reconstruction process in manifold ways: financially and with personnel; through taking on the responsibility for the establishment of the Afghan police force; and through the intensive commitment of the Bundeswehr for security and stability in the country.”

Germany has extended its Bundeswehr deployment in Afghanistan for another year and increased the number of troops to 3,000; Germany provides the largest troop contingent in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) there.

“Tom Koenigs will assume office in February 2006 at a time when Afghanistan will be entering a new phase: with the election of the Afghan parliament and its convening on December 19, 2005, the Bonn Process has successfully concluded,” Steinmeier said. “The Afghan government and the Afghan parliament have taken over the responsibility for the fate of their country. Nevertheless, the international community will have to continue to support Afghanistan in order to consolidate the previous success in the reconstruction process. Therefore, at the end of January an international Afghanistan conference will take place in London at which the emphases and goals for the cooperation between Afghanistan and the international community over the next five years are to be agreed upon. UNAMA and its new leader Tom Koenigs will play a crucial role in the course of this continuing process as well.”

December 28, 2005

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