31 May 2012: At the daily press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, it was announced that he has made three high-level appointments, for the positions of Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

For the position of Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Ban selected Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal of Austria. Launsky-Tieffenthal is the Spokesman and Head of the Department for Communication and Information of the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs.

For the position of Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Ban selected Wu Hongbo of China. Wu is Ambassador of China to the Federal Republic of Germany.

For the position of Assistant Secretary-General in DESA, Ban selected Shamshad Akhtar of Pakistan. Akhtar recently served as Vice-President, Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank. [Briefing Transcript]