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Ambassador William Lacy Swing, the new Director General of the
International Organization for Migration (IOM), takes office today.

On his first day as Director General, Ambassador Swing plans to
hold a Town Hall meeting with all IOM staff in Geneva.

As part of his immediate priorities, Ambassador Swing will meet
the President of the IOM Council, heads of United Nations agencies,
other IOM partners and the Diplomatic Corps.

Mr. Swing will also be preparing for his participation at the
upcoming Global Forum on Migration and Development scheduled to
take place in Manila from 27-30 October.

Mr. Swing brings to the 125-member Organization a wealth of
international experience, a proven ability to manage complex
multilateral operations and to collaborate productively with
foreign governments, United Nations agencies and other institutions
as well as a deep understanding of the multiple factors affecting
international migration.

As UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from May 2003 till
January 2008, Ambassador Swing successfully led the largest UN
peacekeeping operation in history.

Prior to his work in the DRC, Ambassador Swing served from 2001
to 2003 as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Western Sahara and Chief of Mission for the UN Mission for the
Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

During a long diplomatic career at the US Department of State,
Mr. Swing was a six-time ambassador, managing some of the largest
diplomatic missions and foreign development and humanitarian aid
programmes in two hemispheres, with a record of strengthening
bilateral relationships.

Ambassador Swing graduated from Catawba College in North
Carolina (Bachelor of Arts) and Yale University (Bachelor of
Divinity), and did post-graduate studies at Tubingen University in
Germany and at Harvard University. He also speaks fluent French and
German.