Ambassador Victor Gbeho, new president of ECOWAS commission, assumes duty
ABUJA, March 22, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The new President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho on Friday, 12th March 2010 assumed duty at the Commission's headquarters in Abuja, three weeks after his unanimous election by the 37th Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the 15 Member States.
In a familiarization meeting with ECOWAS statutory appointees and heads of directorates shortly after his arrival, Ghanaian-born Gbeho expressed delight at the opportunity of meeting the management team of the Commission. He said he was looking forward to a harmonious working relationship with the entire staff in order to accomplish the goals of ECOWAS and thereby improve the lives of the citizens of the ECOWAS Community.
Ambassador Gbeho said he was “bringing to the table my experience over the years and the energy that we can develop together”.
A retired career diplomat and politician, Ambassador Gbeho is taking over from Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, to complete Ghana's tenure as the chief executive officer of the Commission, following the latter's appointment as the General Secretary of the ACP in Brussels.
Ambassador Gbeho worked in the then Ghana Foreign and Commonwealth Service and later the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has served in various capacities at Ghana's Diplomatic Missions abroad as well as in the Ministry in Accra, Ghana.
Some of his postings include the Ghana Missions in China, India, Nigeria, New York (UN/USA), Germany, United Kingdom and Geneva (UN/Switzerland), holding such posts as the Deputy High Commissioner to the Court of St. James (U.K.), Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ghana to the European Offices of the United Nations in Geneva, with concurrent accreditation to UNIDO in Vienna, Austria, Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations in New York and concurrently accredited to Cuba, Jamaica as well as Trinidad and Tobago.
Ambassador Gbeho also held various positions during his tenure in Geneva as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the European Offices of the United Nations and was also concurrently accredited to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria.
He is also bringing to the ECOWAS Commission his experience as a special peace envoy having been appointed as the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in Somalia from 1994 to 1995 and between 1995 and 1996 Special Representative of the Chairman of ECOWAS in Liberia.
In Liberia, he exercised political oversight and responsibility necessary for the implementation of the agreements reached at the Akosombo Talks and the subsequent Accra Clarification Talks for the return of peace to the war-torn country.
In that respect, Ambassador Gbeho worked closely with the then ECOWAS Secretariat and ECOMOG. He also led the ECOWAS Team that negotiated the Status of Forces Agreement with the Government of Charles Taylor in 1996.
Source: Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS)
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Ambassador Victor Gbeho, new president of ECOWAS commission, assumes duty
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