Head of Department
Mr. Hervé Ladsous is the Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. He took over from the former Under-Secretary-General Mr. Alain Le Roy on 3 October 2011.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Hervé Ladsous, USG of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
Mr. Ladsous has extensive experience in the diplomatic field. He is recognized by his peers in all parts of the world for his capacity to build consensus. He brings to the position acute political judgement, strong crisis-management capacities - especially in the area of peacekeeping - and a profound understanding of the challenges facing the United Nations.
Mr. Ladsous has held an extensive number of positions in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since he joined in 1971. As a junior diplomat he was posted to Hong Kong, Canberra, Beijing, and the Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva. Having served as Deputy-Director General of the Department for the Americas he was appointed Chargé d’affaires a.i. in Haiti. He then became Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York.
Mr. Ladsous served as the French Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, and Ambassador of France to Indonesia and Timor-Leste. He then held senior positions in Paris including Spokesperson of the Ministry and Director General for Asia and Oceania.
Mr Ladsous was Ambassador of France to the People’s Republic of China, before holding his current position as Chief of Staff (Directeur de Cabinet) for the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs.
Mr. Ladsous holds a Degree in Law and a Diploma in Chinese and Malay Indonesian from the National School of Oriental Studies in France.
Born in 1950, he is married and has three children.