UNOCA Leadership

Mr Mohamed El-Amine Souef, a native of the Comoros, was appointed on 27 May 2026 as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA). He succeeded Ambassador Abdou Abarry of Niger, who headed the Office from November 2022 to February 2026.

Mr Souef brings 35 years’ experience in the fields of diplomacy, foreign affairs and peacekeeping. Within the United Nations, he has held posts with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) (2020–2022 and 2015–2017) and the African Union–United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) (2011–2015). He then joined the African Union, notably as the President’s Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), as well as its predecessor, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) (2022–2025). Since March 2025, he has held the post of Chief of Staff to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

Mr Souef is also a former lecturer at the Hiroshima Peacebuilders Centre in Japan.

Mr Souef has held various senior positions within the Comorian government, including Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2017–2020 and 1999–2005), Permanent Representative of the Comoros to the United Nations (2006), Member of the National Assembly (2002), Ambassador of the Comoros to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States (1994–1998) and Adviser to the President of the Comoros (1992–1994).

Mr Souef holds a postgraduate degree in modern languages and literature from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, Morocco, as well as a bachelor’s degree in languages and literature from the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia. He also undertook diplomatic training at the Institute of Diplomatic Studies in Egypt (1991) and at the Diplomatic Service Academy in Islamabad, Pakistan (1991–1992). Mr Souef completed the United Nations Leadership Development Programme (LDP). He is the author of six books on politics and geopolitics. In addition to his mother tongue, Comorian, he is fluent in Arabic, English, French and Swahili. In terms of his contribution to the understanding of the geopolitics and history of his country and his continent, he has published six books, including « Les grands défis de la politique étrangère des Comores » (2009) and « Les Comores en mouvement » (2008), all published by Les Editions de la Lune.