NEW YORK - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Pernille Dahler Kardel of Denmark as his Deputy Special Representative (Political) for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).  Ms. Kardel will succeed Tadamichi Yamamoto of Japan, who the Secretary-General has appointed as his new Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of UNAMA.

Ms. Kardel brings twenty-five years of experience in diplomacy, political affairs, international cooperation and economic development, spanning several continents.  Most recently Ms. Kardel served as Ambassador of Denmark to the Arab Republic of Egypt.  From 2007 to 2012, she was Denmark’s Ambassador to Ethiopia as well as to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibiouti and Permanent Representative to the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).  She has held several positions with Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ranging from Counselor with the Permanent Mission to the United Nations to Deputy Head of Mission in Moscow, Russia, and Second Secretary in New Delhi, India.  She also served as the Head of the Asia Department in Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, covering Afghanistan among other countries.

Ms. Kardel holds two master degrees, one in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University (USA), and one in interdisciplinary planning from Roskilde University (Denmark).

Born in 1962, she is married and has two children.