On 16 July 2014, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, appointed 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 succeeded José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste to whom the Secretary-General was 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.

Previous Representatives/Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Guinea-Bissau and Heads of UNOGBIS/UNIOGBIS

Mr. José Ramos-Horta (Timor-Leste), January 2013-June 2014
Mr. Joseph Mutaboba (Rwanda), February 2009-January 2013
Mr. Shola Omoregie (Nigeria), October 2006 - December 2008
Mr. João Bernardo Honwana, (Mozambique) September 2004 - September 2006
Mr. David Stephen (United Kingdom), February 2002 - April 2004
Mr. Nana Sinkan (Cameroon), 1999 - 2002