Hervé Ludovic de Lys is UNICEF Country Representative to the Republic of South Africa. He started his career as an economist for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Department of State Mission to Mali and has since worked for a wide range of international organizations and the private sector gaining experience on issues pertaining to socio-economic development, peace and security and humanitarian issues in Africa. Prior to South Africa, He was UNICEF’s Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, Head of the Liaison Office to the African Union of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Ethiopia, Head of Regional Office for OCHA and Senior Humanitarian Advisor for the UN SRSG for West Africa in Senegal and, Senior Regional External Relations Officer for UNHCR, Abidjan.
Hervé is a national of Mali and holds a Masters’ Degree in International Economics from the University of Aix-Marseille, France.