Michael Hage, Coordinator of the FAO Sub-Regional Office for North Africa

Tunis, Tunisia, 1 August 2017- The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has recently appointed Michael Hage to serve as the Coordinator of the FAO Sub-Regional Office in North Africa.

The office is based in Tunisia and oversees the five Arab Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia). Hage’s appointment took effect on 1 August 2017, succeeding Lamourdia Thiombiano.

Hage is a Lebanese citizen and he holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and a Master’s Degree in Business Sciences from the State University of New York. He also holds a postgraduate diploma in Global Trade Management from the Public Policy School at George Mason University, Virginia, United States of America.

Hage’s career spans more than two decades in terms of multilateral relations services, policy development, program management, and communication for development.

His career at FAO began in 1992, when he started working as a Liaison Officer to the United Nations Liaison Office (LON) in New York, United States of America. From 1996 to 2000, he was the Regional Communications Officer at the Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (NENA) based in Cairo, Egypt. He simultaneously combined the functions of the member of the Secretariats of the five Regional Conferences for the NENA. He returned to the United States of America in 2000, as Regional Information Officer at the Liaison Office for North America in Washington D.C.

Hage joined FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, in 2007 where he was renowned by the increase of decentralized offices, which came in line with the United Nations security standards. In 2010, he was appointed as Head of the Protocol Sub-Division at FAO and a member of the FAO Conference and Council Secretariats. From February to June 2012, he served as Senior Officer at the Office of Corporate Communications and External Relations (OCE), where he worked to raise the exposure of the Organization in the media.

From July 2012 up to this day, he served as Representative of the FAO in Morocco, where he was valued for his diplomatic and managerial skills aiming to strengthen the relations between FAO and Morocco and providing better guidance for the country’s team. In Morocco, Hage has made a great effort to increase FAO’s profile, particularly through the support of the Moroccan Presidency at the COP 22 and the signing of strategic South-South Cooperation Agreements between the FAO and Morocco, for the benefit of African countries.