16 July 2014 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Mr. Miguel Trovoada of São Tomé and Príncipe as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS).

Mr. Trovoada succeeds José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his leadership and efforts, including progress in the restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau, the mobilization of international support for the country and the promotion of a coordinated approach among international partners.

Mr. Trovoada brings with him extensive political and diplomatic experience, especially high-level responsibilities carried out in São Tomé and Príncipe and in the Gulf of Guinea region. He served as the first Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (1975-1979). He was elected President of São Tomé and Príncipe in the country's first multi-party presidential election in 1991, and re-elected in 1996. Mr. Trovoada served as Executive Secretary of the Gulf of Guinea Commission from 2009 to 2013.

Mr. Trovoada studied law at the University of Lisbon, in Portugal.

Born in 1936, Mr. Trovoada is married and has three children.