Movses Abelian is an Armenian diplomat who has served as

Under-Secretary-General An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

for General Assembly and Conference Management and Coordinator for Multilingualism in the

United Nations Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), The secretariat is the UN's executive arm. The secretariat has an important role in setting the agenda for the deliberative and decision-making bodi ...

since 2019.United Nations, Movses Abelian, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management
Retrieved 13 October 2024.

Education and early career

Abelian was educated in Armenia, Russia and the United States of America. He was an associate professor at

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; , , ), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919, it is the largest university in the country. It is thus informally known as Armenia's ...

from 1989 to 1992 before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

Diplomatic and international roles

In 1996 Abelian was appointed Deputy Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations, and later served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative from 1998 to 2003. During his tenure he held roles as chair of the General Assembly's Fifth Committee in 1998, vice-chair of the United Nations Disarmament Commission in 2000, president of the Executive Board of

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

in 2001 and facilitator for United Nations reform in 2002. After becoming a United Nations official, Abelian served as director of the Security Council Affairs Division from 2011 to 2016 before being appointed Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management. He succeeded Catherine Pollard as

for General Assembly and Conference Management and Coordinator for MultilingualismUnited Nations, "Secretary-General Appoints Movses Abelian of Armenia Coordinator for Multilingualism"
3 September 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2024. in 2019.

Personal life

Abelian is married and has two children.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Permanent representatives of Armenia to the United Nations United Nations officials Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations Armenian officials of the United Nations Chairmen and Presidents of UNICEF {{UN-bio-stub