United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, announced the appointment of Ghana's former Foreign Minister Hanna Serwaa Tetteh as his Special Representative for the Horn of Africa.
She succeeds Parfait Onanga-Anyanga of Gabon, to whom the Secretary-General reiterated his deep gratitude and appreciation for his dedicated service.
Ms. Tetteh brings with her decades of experience at the national, regional, and international levels and a keen skill in building consensus among stakeholders. This will enable her to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and the countries of the Horn of Africa, as well as with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the area of peace and security.
Since 2019, she was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNAU). Prior to that, she was the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi.
In the Cabinet of the Government of Ghana, she served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. During this time, she was also a member of the National Security Council and the Armed Forces Council (2013-2017). Between 2009 and 2013, Ms. Tetteh served as Minister of Trade and Industry. From 2014 to 2015, she was Chair of the Council of Ministers and Chair of the Mediation and Security Council of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
During her tenure as Minister of Trade and Industry, she was a member of the government's economic leadership team, the board of the Millennium Development Authority, and the National Development Planning Commission, as well as chair of the Ghana Free Zones Board.
In 2009, she served as spokesperson for the transition team of President John Evans Atta Mills' government.
As a Member of Parliament in 2000-2005 and 2013-2017, she was appointed Co-Facilitator of the High-Level Forum for the Revival of the Agreement to Resolve the Conflict in South Sudan (2017-2018).
Ms. Tetteh holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Ghana, Legon. She was admitted to the Ghana Bar in 1992.
In addition to English, she is fluent in Hungarian and Fante.