Security Council approves Bathily as new head of UN Mission in Libya

The Security Council on Friday approved former Senegalese minister and U.N. diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily as the new U.N. envoy to Libya, ending a nine-month vacancy.

The vote came a day after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had nominated Bathily. The 75-year-old succeeds Ján Kubiš of Slovakia, who previously served as special envoy and head of U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

In a statement on Friday, UNSMIL said that Bathily “brings to this position over 40 years of experience with his national Government, academic institutions, regional organizations and the United Nations system.”

“In his most recent assignment with the United Nations, he served, in 2021, as the Independent Expert for the strategic review of UNSMIL,” added the Mission.

According to the U.N., he previously served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) (2013-2014), and as Special Representative for Central Africa and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) in Gabon (2014-2016).

In 2018, he was appointed as Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Madagascar and in 2019 as Independent Expert for the strategic review of the United Nations Office for West Africa.

Having taught history for more than 30 years at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal, he also lectured in several universities around the world.  Mr. Bathily holds a Doctor of Philosophy in history from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, as well as a doctorate from the Université Cheikh Anta Diop.  Mr. Bathily is fluent in English, French, Soninke and Wolof.