Council Bureau

At the beginning of each regular session, the Council elects, from among the representatives, a Chairperson and the following officers: a First Vice-Chairperson, a Second Vice-Chairperson and a Rapporteur. The officers are elected for a one-year term and hold office until their successors are elected. They are eligible for re-election.

Chairperson: His Excellency Dr. Lansana Gberie, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sierra Leone in Switzerland & Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva, including the World Trade Centre. 

In the multilateral context, he held several leadership roles, including the President of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and Chair of the Seventh Conference of States Parties CSP7, the chair of World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council. Ambassador Gberie served as a Rapporteur, 1st, and 2nd Vice-chairperson of the Governing Bureau of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) from 2020-2022.  

Prior to his appointment in Geneva by His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio in 2018, Dr. Gberie worked for the United Nations for many years, including as Coordinator and Finance Expert of the United Nations Security Council Panel of Experts on Liberia following his appointment by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in 2012. Between 2011 and 2013, he worked as a Senior Researcher/Political Analyst for the Security Council Report in New York.  In 2010 and 2011, he was a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  

An academic and writer, Dr. Gberie holds a PhD in history from Amsterdam, and an MA in military history from the Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada.  He is the author of several books, and dozens of scholarly articles in various peer-reviewed journals.  

First Vice-Chairperson: Her Excellency Katharina Stasch, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva. 

Ambassador Stasch brings to the position over fifteen years of experience in international and national politics. Prior to becoming Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, she has served as Chief of Staff and Head of the Minister’s Office of Foreign Minister Heiko Maas Office in the Federal Foreign Ministry as well as the Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. Important projects of this time include the shaping of the Alliance of Multilateralism, Germany‘s Membership in the UN Security Council, the Law on Equal Rights of Women (quotas) and combating hate speech.  

Ms Stasch holds a Ph.D. (Thesis- Lender of Last Resort: Banking Crises and Crisis Resolution in the EU), University of Hamburg, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.), School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 

Second Vice-Chairperson: His Excellency Seong deok Yun, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Republic of Korea to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva. 

Ambassador Yun has served as the Republic of Korea's Ambassador and Permanent Representative in Geneva since December 2022. Ambassador Yun has over 30 years of experience in diplomatic service and foreign affairs. Prior to his posting to Geneva, Ambassador Yun was serving as Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea since February 2022 and served as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister from June 2021 to February 2022. Prior to this, he served as the Republic of Korea’s Ambassador to Morocco from July 2018 to June 2021 and as Director-General for Bilateral Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from February 2017 to July 2018. 

Mr Seong deok Yun holds a B.A. in English Language and Literature from Seoul National University. 

Rapporteur: His Excellency Ambassador Luis Chuquihuara Chil, Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva. 

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Ambassador Chuquihuara Chil has served as Permanent Representative of Peru to the Organization of American States (OAS) and to the European Union (EU); Ambassador of Peru to Belgium, Luxembourg, El Salvador, Belize, Switzerland and Liechtenstein; Consul General of Peru in London; Consul General of Peru in Chicago; resident Representative of Peru to the World Economic Forum; and resident representative of Peru to the Central American Integration System.  

Ambassador Chuquihuara Chil has also served as Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, Undersecretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, Presidential Advisor in External Affairs, Head of the Cabinet Advisors of the Presidency of the Judiciary and representative of the President of the Judiciary at the national agreement.  

Ambassador Chuquihuara Chil holds post graduate degrees in Public Management from the International Institute of Public Administration in France and in Political Science from the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. He also has a degree in International Relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Peru and attended legal training at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.