New U.N. Special Coordinator Joanna Wronecka Arrives in Lebanon

Joanna Wronecka, the newly appointed U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, arrived Tuesday in Beirut to take up her new position.

Wronecka, 63, will serve as the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Lebanon and Head of Mission of the United Nations Office of the Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL).

“It is an honor to serve with the United Nations in Lebanon,” said Wronecka upon her arrival at Beirut airport. “I regret that the country is passing through this very challenging time and my thoughts are with all those who are struggling under the burden of the overlapping crises facing their country,” she added. “I will work with all partners in Lebanon and the international community, and with the broader U.N. family, to support Lebanon and its people to strengthen democratic peace, security, stability and socio-economic development.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Wronecka (Poland) on April 1. She will succeed Slovakia's Jan Kubis, who recently took office as the new U.N. envoy for Libya.

Since 2017, Wronecka had been in New York, where she was tasked by the U.N. General Assembly with reviving endless negotiations on reforming the Security Council to expand it to include new members.

Wronecka brings over 25 years of experience in diplomacy, international security and Middle East affairs, having served since 2017 as the Permanent Representative of Poland to the United Nations, including during Poland’s membership in the Security Council (2018-2019), and as Under Secretary of State for Arab and African countries, development cooperation and Polish-United Nations relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland (2015-2017).

She previously served as Head of the European Union Delegation to Jordan (2011-2015), Ambassador of Poland to Morocco (2005-2010) and Egypt (1999-2003) as well as non-resident Ambassador of Poland to Mauritania (2006-2010) and Sudan (2000-2003). Wronecka further served as the Director of the Secretariat of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (2003-2005), Director of the Africa and Middle East Department (1998-1999) and Deputy Director of the United Nations Department at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1996-1998).

She holds a Ph.D. in Arabic philosophy and a master’s degree in Arabic philology from the University of Warsaw and she conducted research on Middle East and Islamic affairs at the Centre d’Etudes et de Documentation Economique et Juridique in Cairo and at the Polish Academy of Sciences.

She is fluent in Arabic, English, French and Polish.