James C. Swan

Swan was born on 10 December 1963 in Washington, D.C.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, a Master of Arts from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a Master of Arts in National Security Studies from the US National War College, where he was a 2005 distinguished graduate.[2]

Prior to assuming his current role with the world body in Somalia, Mr. Swan had a nearly three-decade career with the US Foreign Service. Most of this diplomatic work focused on African countries.  

In his bilateral diplomatic career, Mr. Swan held positions related to Somalia and the Horn of Africa. These include US Special Representative for Somalia (2011-2013), Ambassador to Djibouti (2008-2011), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East and Central Africa (2006-2008), Africa Director in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (2005-2006), and Political Officer in the Office of the Special Envoy for Somalia (1994-1996).  

He also served as the US Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2013-2016),[3][2] in addition to prior staff assignments in the Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Nicaragua, and Haiti.[4]

James Swan meeting with Minister of Women and Human Rights Development Her Excellency Haniifa Mohamed Ibrahim on 26 January 2021

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on 30 May 2019 meets Swan to lead the UN team in Somalia.[5][6] He is responsible for UN operations in Somalia, including two UN missions and 23 agencies, funds, and programmes that together have about 2,000 national and international staff and a budget of about $2 billion.[7]

Mr. Swan serves concurrently as the Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). This UN special political mission operates under a UN Security Council mandate to support Somali institutions, strengthen Somali coordination with international partners in the security sector, help Somalis advance in reconciliation and democratic governance, and promote the rule of law and human rights.

In 2020 Swan had two deputies Adam Abdelmoula and Anita Kiki Gbeho.[7]

On 24 July 2019, a female suicide bomber entered and blew herself up inside Mogadishu Mayor Abdirahmean Omar Osman's office, killing six government officials and injuring nine of Osman's staff. Swan was the target of the attack, but Swan had met the mayor earlier, leaving before the blast occurred. Osman was critically wounded in the attack, and succumbed to his injuries a week later, on 1 August 2019, after having been transported to and hospitalised in Doha, Qatar. The attack was claimed by Al Shabaab.[8]

• https://www.c-span.org/person/?jamesswan
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkOz-aOunRwQyj800bNAuig/videos
• http://webtv.un.org/search?term=%22james+swan%22&cat=Meetings%2FEvents&sort=date
• Appearances on C-SPAN