Tripoli, 27 September 2021 – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner recently appointed Marc-André Franche as Resident Representative ad interim for Libya. Mr. Marc-André Franche assumes his new functions today in Tripoli. 

UNDP in Libya, with the support of its international and national partners, accompanies national and local authorities, civil society and the private sector to build peace and stability paving the way to sustainable development for all Libyans. Support notably includes strengthening resilience across, supporting the democratic process through fair and credible elections and accompanying the national reconciliation.

Ms. Khalida Bouzar, UNDP’s Regional Director for Arab States underlined “the appointment of Mr. Franche and the new management team of UNDP Libya underscores the priority given to Libya by UNDP and our commitment to redouble efforts to accompany the country’s peaceful transition”.  Mr. Marc-André Franche stated: "UNDP Libya reaffirms its commitment to accompany the electoral process and continue strengthening democratic institutions helping the country move forward towards achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in a peaceful and unified way".

Mr. Marc-André Franche brings to the position over 20 years of experience in international development and conflict prevention with the United Nations. He previously headed the UN Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund, which supports more than 40 countries around the world to prevent violent conflict, avoid the resumption of conflict or encourage reconciliation.

Before that, Mr. Franche was Country Director of UNDP in Pakistan from 2013 to 2016, where he led a team working on conflict prevention, governance and climate change adaptation. He was also Deputy Director of UNDP in Haiti, a position he held from 2008 to 2012.  Between 2004 and 2008, Mr. Franche worked for UNDP in New York as a program advisor for conflict prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean. In this capacity, he led the regional program on conflict prevention and supported consensus building and dialogue in the region. Previously, he worked on applied research and policy dialogue on conflict prevention for UNDP in Colombia and on poverty reduction and local governance for UNDP in Bolivia.

Mr. Marc- André Franche is Canadian, holds a master's degree in development policy from the London School of Economics, European studies from Lund University and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Montreal. He is married and has a son.