Secretary General of OIC

H.E. Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed


Nationality: Mauritanian
Date of Election: 27 August 2026

Professional Experience

  • September 2023 – July 2026:

Strategic Advisor: United Nations and International Diplomatic Academies

  • April 2022 – July 2023:

Minister / Chief of Cabinet to the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania

  • June 2018 – March 2022:

Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad (Mauritanian Government)

  • May 2015 – February 2018:

Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Yemen (with the rank of Under-Secretary-General), United Nations. New York – Amman (Jordan)

  • January 2015 – April 2015:

Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission for the Elimination of Ebola (at the level of Under-Secretary-General). Ghana – Guinea – Liberia – Sierra Leone

  • February 2014 – December 2014:

Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Deputy Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (at the level of Assistant Secretary-General). Tripoli (Libya)

  • April 2012 – February 2014:

United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme. Sana’a (Yemen)

  • May 2008 – March 2012:

United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme. Damascus (Syria)

  • May 2007 – May 2008:

Director of Change Management, Office of the Executive Director. UNICEF Headquarters – New York

  • December 2006 – April 2007:

Deputy Director of Human Resources at UNICEF – Strategic Talent Manager. Headquarters – New York

  • May 2005 – December 2006:

Deputy Regional Director, UNICEF Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO). Nairobi (Kenya)

  • September 2002 – May 2005:

UNICEF Resident Representative, Tbilisi, Georgia (Central and Eastern Europe / Commonwealth of Independent States)

  • April 2000 – August 2002:

Regional Human Resources Officer, Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa. Amman (Jordan)

  • July 1998 – April 2000:

Head of Human Resources – Middle East and North Africa Region. UNICEF Headquarters – New York

  • August 1997 – July 1998:

A research year at the University of Manchester – United Kingdom

  • May 1986 – June 1997:

Operations Officer at UNICEF. Mauritania – Togo – Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • July 1985 – April 1986:

Project Officer (Community Development), Food Security Commission – Government of Mauritania

Academic Qualifications

  • Advanced Certificate in Economics and Social Policy Analysis (April 2006 – February 2007), Maastricht School of Governance, Maastricht University (Netherlands).
  • Master of Science (MSc) in Human Resource Development (September 1997 – September 1998), University of Manchester (United Kingdom).
  • Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Economics and Management (October 1980 – June 1984), University of Montpellier (France).

     

Honours, Awards and Professional Activities

  • National and international honours:
  • Order of Honour (Officer class) from the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
  • Order of Honour from the President of the French Republic.

     

Memberships:

  • Founding member of the Association for Human Resources Management and Development in International Organisations (Geneva, Switzerland).
  • Member of the United Nations Staff College (UNSSC) Trainers’ Network for United Nations Reform and Joint Evaluation (Turin, Italy).

Languages

Arabic – French – English – Spanish

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