Dr. Volker Perthes

Dr. Volker Perthes of Germany was appointed Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) on 7 January 2021.

He brings to this position over 25 years of experience in academia, research, international relations and diplomacy, including with the United Nations, as well as deep expertise in conflict resolution and regional geopolitics. 

Prior to his appointment, from 2005 to 2020, Dr. Perthes served as Executive Chairman and Director of SWP (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik), the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in Berlin.

From 2015 to 2018, he served as Assistant Secretary-General, then Senior Adviser to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, including as Chairperson of the International Syria Support Group’s Ceasefire Taskforce for Syria on behalf of the United Nations. 

Dr. Perthes also worked as Researcher and Head of Department at SWP from 1992 to 2005, and as Adjunct Professor for International Relations at Humboldt University of Berlin from 2007 to 2019.  He began his academic career as Assistant Professor at the American University of Beirut (1991-1993). He holds a Master’s degree and a Doctorate in Political Science from the University of Duisburg in Germany.  He is fluent in English and Arabic and has written extensively about foreign and security policy, international relations, and geopolitics, as well as regional dynamics and transitions in the Middle East.

Ms. Clementine Nkweta-Salami

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed on 1 May 2023 Ms. Clementine Nkweta-Salami of Cameroon as his Deputy Special Representative for Sudan with the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), and United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.

Ms. Nkweta-Salami succeeds Ms. Khardiata Lo N’Diaye of Senegal, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedication.

Ms. Nkweta-Salami brings to the position 30 years of experience in humanitarian affairs and protection, mainly in field settings.  For the past three years, she has served as Director of the Regional Bureau for the East, Horn and Great Lakes Regions of Africa of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where she is responsible for providing strategic direction, support and oversight of eleven UNHCR country offices.  Prior to this, she was UNHCR Representative to Ethiopia, Regional Representative to Southern Africa, Representative to Burundi, and Head of Inspection in the Inspector General’s Office at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva.  She has also served in field positions with UNHCR in Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Ms. Nkweta-Salami holds a Master's degree in Corporate and Commercial Law from University College, University of London, a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Warwick and a Bachelor of Social Science degree in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Ottawa.  Ms. Nkweta-Salami is a qualified Barrister and member of the English and Cameroon Bar.