Geneva 1 October 2008 - 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.

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