Ján Kubiš

Who is Ján Kubiš?

Ján Kubiš is the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. He was appointed to this position by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 23 November 2011. Previously, he served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia from July 2006 until January 2009.

The Slovak diplomat was formerly Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Secretary General. In July 2005, the European Union appointed Ján Kubiš to be the EU's special envoy to Central Asia. Ján Kubiš had previously served as the United Nations special envoy to Tajikistan during the transitional period following the civil war until the country held its first postwar elections.

Prior to taking on the post as OSCE Secretary General, Kubiš was Director of the Conflict Prevention Centre in the secretariat of the OSCE, a position he has held since 1994.

From 1993 to May 1998, Kubiš was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the UN Office in Geneva, as well as to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and other international organizations.