DANISH JURIST CHOSEN AS NEW DEPUTY UN LEGAL CHIEF

DANISH JURIST CHOSEN AS NEW DEPUTY UN LEGAL CHIEF New York, Aug 19 2008 4:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Peter Taksøe-Jensen of Denmark as the new Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, replacing Larry Johnson of the United States.

"Mr. Taksøe-Jensen is well-known in international legal circles, where he has been the driving force behind a number of Danish policies and initiatives to strengthen and develop international law," UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.

"His experience and background will be of direct relevance in supporting the Legal Counsel in the overall direction and management of the Office of Legal Affairs and in furthering the main goals of the Office," he added.

Since 2004 Mr. Taksøe-Jensen has been the principal legal adviser to the Danish Foreign Minister on all matters concerning international law. He joined the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1987, and has served in its Departments of International Law, Security Policy and European Law, and on various government commissions.

He has also served at the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Commission on the Red Cross of the Government of Denmark, in addition to his country's embassies in Vienna and Brussels.

Mr. Taksøe-Jensen holds a degree in law from the University of Copenhagen, where he has also lectured since 2003.

The appointment was announced two weeks after Mr. Ban selected Patricia O'Brien of Ireland to be the new Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel.
2008-08-19 00:00:00.000

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