Nov 10, 2015 United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently announced the appointment of Martin Kobler as his Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya.
Mr. Kobler will succeed Bernardino León of Spain, who is set to resume work as the first director of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy.
Commenting on the shift, Bernardino León said:
“So I think what they are looking at here is a man with some international experience, this is the only thing I know. I have been doing this job for 26, 27 years and after 26, 27 years they are asking me to do something academic and I thought there’s nothing wrong in that. I insist, the optics might not be right, the appearance might not be right. But don’t judge. This is not about you, or someone saying, ‘You are not honest,’ or me saying, ‘Here, I am honest.’ You cannot prove you are honest or you are not. The appearance is not good, but what you can judge is my work.”
Libya fell into turmoil after its internationally recognized government and elected parliament was driven out of Tripoli by Islamist armed factions.
The UN Envoy then proposed a national unity government. However after months of talks, the two warring factions remain deadlocked over a U.N-proposed government.