Catriona Laing to head UNSOM in shuffle between Brits and Americans

GOOBJOOG NEWS|NEW YORK: British diplomat Catriona Wendy Campbell Laing will now take over the leadership of the UN Support Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Laing Wednesday following the lapse of tenure for American James Swan. The rotation has since the leadership of the UN body change hands between Americans and Britons in the last four terms.

Swan replaced Nicholas Haysom, a South African who was kicked out by the Somali government on January 1, 2019, after serving for only three months. Before that, Michael Keating, a Briton was at the helm from January 2016 until September 2018. He replaced Nicholas Kay, also a Briton.

Until her appointment, Laing was the British High Commissioner to Nigeria and has been in the foreign service for 35 years.

She holds an MSc degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master’s in Business Administration from Cranfield University, both in the United Kingdom.