UN chief appoints Khawla Matar as deputy special envoy for Syria

UNITED NATIONS, March 14 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Thursday the appointment of Khawla Matar of Bahrain as the deputy special envoy for Syria.

"The secretary-general takes this opportunity to reiterate his gratitude to Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy of Egypt for his efforts to the search for peace in Syria," according to a press note from the UN chief's office.

Matar has profound knowledge of the region, the Syrian conflict, and the UN system.

Her experience includes earlier assignments as the deputy head of the United Nations Development System Transition Team in New York, deputy executive secretary for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut, director of the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria in Damascus, spokesperson for the Office of the Joint United Nations-League of Arab States Special Representative for Syria, and director of the United Nations Information Center in Cairo.

She has extensively written and published on regional politics and related issues, says the press note.

Matar holds a PhD degree in sociology from the University of Durham in Britain.