Officers of the Human Rights Council's Seventh Cycle (1 January to 31 December 2013)

Cheikh Ahmed Ould Zahaf was appointed Permanent Representative of Mauritania to the United Nations Office at Geneva 3 August 2010.

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Mr. Ould Zahaf had been serving since 2007 as a consultant for several institutions.  In 2010 he was in charge of elaborating and following up a communications strategy for the Project for the Eradication of the After-effects of Slavery and also served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme's programme for conflict prevention and management.  From 2008 to 2009 he was a consultant for the Banc d'Arguin National Park and was tasked with the development and follow-up of an education strategy for children.  He also served since 2007 as a consultant tasked with the training of elected representatives as part of a project of the German Technical Cooperation for Development Agency supporting decentralization.

Mr. Ould Zahaf began his career with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs in 1998 as a counsellor for social affairs.  In 1999 he served as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Civil Servants, Labour, Youth and Sports.  From 1999 to 2001 he was Minister for Hydraulics and Energy and in this capacity was also a member of the Senegal River Basin Development Authority.  From 2002 to 2003 he was Director-General of the National Tourist Office.

Mr. Ould Zahaf holds a teaching diploma from the Nouakchott Ecole Normale Superieur (1987) and worked as a teacher in philosophy, educational psychology and sociology from 1987 to 1993.

Born in 1962, Mr. Ould Zahaf is married with five children.

Iruthisham Adam was appointed the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Maldives to United Nations Offices in Geneva on 4 November 2009. She also serves as the Ambassador of the Republic of Maldives to WTO as well as the non-resident Ambassador for Switzerland, Germany, Turkey and Italy.

Prior to her current appointment, from 2008 to 2009 she served as the Deputy Permanent Representative at the rank of Minister Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Maldives to the United Nations in New York. From July 2007- 2008 until an Ambassador of Maldives was appointed to UN, she has served as the Charge d' Affaires & Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Maldives to the United Nations, New York as well as the non-resident Charge d' Affaires a.i. of Maldives Embassy to United States of America in Washington Dc.

Since beginning her career as a career diplomat in May 1988, Ms. Adam served in various posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives. She served as Deputy Director, Assistant Director-General, and Head of Division for Commonwealth & Other International Organizations (since July-Sept 2006) and later as Head of Legal and Consular Affairs Department ( May 2001- August 2002). She also served as First Secretary at the High Commission of Maldives in London from 2002-2006.

Ms. Adam holds a Masters of Arts(MA) in Diplomatic Studies with Distinctions, Diplomatic Academy of London, University of Westminster, London (2000-2001), Postgraduate Certificate with Merit, Oxford Foreign Service Programme, University of Oxford (Oct 1998-June1999), She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Management & Public Administration, USP, Fiji (1994-1996).

Ms. Adam was born on 2 September 1970 in Male', Maldives.

Luis Gallegos Chiriboga was appointed Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations Office at Geneva on 23 November 2011. 

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Mr. Gallegos Chiriboga had been serving as Ambassador of Ecuador to the United States since 2005. Before that, he was Ambassador of Ecuador to Australia and Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations in New York. From 2000 to 2002, he was Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador. From 1997 to 2000, he was Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

A career diplomat, Mr. Gallegos Chiriboga has also served as Ambassador of Ecuador to El Salvador (1994 to 1997); Coordinator of the Modernization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1990 to 1994); and Head of Mission in Bulgaria (1985 to 1989). He also held numerous posts within the United Nations, including as Vice President of the General Assembly (2003); Vice President of the Economic and Social Council (2005); Vice President of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund; Vice President of the Commission on Human Rights (1998); and President of the Geneva Diplomatic Corps Network.

Mr. Gallegos Chiriboga has a Bachelor of Political and Social Sciences; a Doctor of Law; a Qualification in Diplomacy from the Institute of Higher National Studies; and a Master of Arts from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, United States.

He was born on 13 December, 1946 and is married with two kids.

Alexandre Fasel was appointed Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations Office at Geneva on 1 November 2012.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Fasel served as the alternate Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations Office at Geneva. At the same time he headed the Multilateral Division and served as Special Representative of Switzerland to the Human Rights Council and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament.

From December 2006 to September 2011, Mr. Fasel was the Head of the United Nations and International Organizations Division of the Directorate for Political Affairs, Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs. From April 2004 to November 2006, he was Director of the Centre for Analysis and Forecasting and Historical Service at the State Secretariat in Bern.

Mr. Fasel entered the service of the Confederation in 1991, after law studies in Fribourg and Oxford and an internship with the European Commission's Legal Service. He joined the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in 1992 and served in Bern and in Ottawa. In 1994, he was assigned as the diplomatic collaborator to the Secretariat of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. In 1996, he became the personal assistant to the Head of the Department and in 1999 he served as the first collaborator to the Chief of Mission in Canberra.

Mr. Fasel was born in 1961 and is from Fribourg, Guin and Tavel.