Former Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova to head the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy
The former head of the Moldovan foreign ministry, Natalia Gherman, has been appointed by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to the post of Special Representative, Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), headquartered in Ashgabat. She will replace Petko Draganov from Bulgaria. Natalia Gherman, a professional diplomat with a quarter-century experience, held high government positions at home country. From 2013 to 2016, she was a minister of foreign affairs and European integration, while simultaneously serving as deputy prime minister. In 2015, she was acting prime minister. In the early stages of diplomatic career, Gherman was Ambassador of Moldova to Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, as well as Permanent Representative of the UN office in Vienna, the OSCE and NATO. Last year, she aspired to the post of UN Secretary General. Natalia Gherman is the daughter of the first president of Moldova Mircea Snegur. She speaks Romanian, English, Russian, French and German. UNRCCA was established in 2007 on the initiative of five Central Asian countries. Through the created conditions and all-round assistance from Turkmenistan, over the decade of activity, the Center has become an effective dialogue tool facilitating interaction between UN and Central Asia on solving water and energy issues, economic and social development issues, combating illicit drug trafficking, terrorism and cross-border crime.
