Kinshasa, 24 January 2012 - The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Hervé Ladsous, will be making an official visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) starting this Tuesday, 24 January 2012.

During the four-day visit, his first to the DRC since his appointment on 2 September 2011, Mr Ladsous will meet in Kinshasa with several Government officials, as well as with members of the Congolese political class, and representatives of the United Nations system.

Mr. Ladsous will then travel to the eastern town of Goma on 26 January for other meetings with provincial and local authorities. While in the east, he will take advantage of his visit to see firsthand the achievements of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

Mr. Ladsous replaces Mr. Alain Le Roy as Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Prior to his appointment with the UN, he held a broad range of diplomatic and political positions under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France, serving in a variety of countries.

Mr. Ladsous holds a law degree and a diploma in Chinese and Indonesian Malay from the National School of Oriental Studies in France.

Born in 1950, he is married and has three children.

Joseph Tshimanga/ MONUSCO