UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres named Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg as his new Yemen envoy on Friday (6 August). Grundberg is the fourth UN envoy since the beginning of the civil war in Yemen.
The former officeholder, Martin Griffiths, was appointed as the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Emergency Relief Coordinator and in that capacity will also lead UN OCHA.
Grundberg served as the European Union ambassador to Yemen since September 2019.
The Yemeni government welcomed Mr. Gundberg's appointment. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates "reiterated that the Yemeni government will continue to extend its hand to a just and sustainable peace based on the three nationally, regionally and internationally agreed references and will provide all support to the new envoy with a view to resuming the political process and reaching a comprehensive political solution".
The appointment was also welcomed by the US State Department, which said it looked forward to working with him to find a final solution to the conflict in Yemen.
The Houthis have not welcomed or rejected the announcement. Last month, Mahdi al-Mashat, president of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, called for the failure of past international envoys not to be repeated, stressing the importance that the UN envoy to Yemen plays an active role and not become a simple message carrier.
