Durga Prasad Bhattarai (born 25 April 1961) is a

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

i career diplomat who is currently the

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and Permanent Representative of

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He serves concurrently as the

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Career

Bhattarai was appointed to his current post in July 2013 and presented his credentials to Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

on August 19 of that year. At the UN, he was elected Chairman of the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization Committee) of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

during its 69th session, from 2014 to 2015. In June 2015 he was elected Chairman of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary Committee) for its 70th session. He is also the Vice President of the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

UNFPA The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, increasing access to birth control, and leadin ...

UNOPS The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is a United Nations agency dedicated to implementing humanitarian and development projects for the United Nations System, international financial institutions, governments and other partners ...

Executive Board for 2015. Before assuming his current post, Bhattarai served as the

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

of Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was previously Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

, from 2005 to 2009. From 2005 to 2006, he was President of the Colombo Plan Council. He served as Minister/Deputy

Permanent Representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Natio ...

from 1998 to 2002. As Joint Secretary of MOFA from 2002 to 2005, he headed the

, International Organizations and International Law Division, and was Ministry Spokesman from 2004 to 2005. Prior to joining the foreign service, Bhattarai worked at the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Planning Commission, and the Cabinet Secretariat.

Personal life

Bhattarai was educated at

Tribhuvan University Tribhuvan University (TU; ) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu Valley, Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest and the largest university in Nepal. It offers 1,000 undergraduate and 500 postgraduate programs a ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

. He holds an MA in Regional Development from the

Institute of Social Studies An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ...

(ISS) in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He is married to Muna, and they have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattarai, Durga Prasad 1961 births Living people Tribhuvan University alumni International Institute of Social Studies alumni Permanent representatives of Nepal to the United Nations Ambassadors of Nepal to the United States Ambassadors of Nepal to Venezuela Ambassadors of Nepal to Bolivia Ambassadors of Nepal to Ecuador Ambassadors of Nepal to Peru Ambassadors of Nepal to the Maldives