The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, has appointed Mr Dominique Fernand Burgeon as Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in Geneva, effective 15 January 2021.

Mr Burgeon, a national of Belgium, holds a Master of Science in Agricultural Engineering from the State University of Gembloux in Belgium, and a Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations and European Integration from the State University of Liège, Faculty of Law, in Belgium.

He started his career as Project Engineer in the French Social Protection System (Mutualité Sociale Agricole) dealing with matters related to the prevention of work hazards in the forestry sector.

He joined FAO in 1994 as Associate Professional Officer at FAO Representation in Syria. From 1998 to 2003, he served in the Emergency Operations Service. In 2003, he was transferred to FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York. In 2006, he returned to headquarters to the Emergency Operations Service as Operations and Liaison Officer and, subsequently, he became Senior Operations Officer/Head of Food Chain Crisis Emergency Management Unit.

In 2010, he was appointed Senior Adviser at the Office of the Deputy Director-General (Operations) until his appointment as FAO Representative in Bangladesh in 2011. In 2012, he became Director of the Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, and, at a later stage, he was designated Strategic Programme Leader, Resilience. He has been serving as Director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience since August 2020.