Manuel Aranda da Silva

UN Deputy Special Representative to the Secretary-General

Manuel Aranda da Silva has been serving as the Deputy Special Representative to theSecretary-General since August 2004, responsible for the humanitarian aspects of theUN mission in Sudan including Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration ofex-combatants, Returns and Resettlement of Displaced Persons, Protection issues,Mine Action and general Humanitarian Coordination. In addition to his post as theDSRSG for humanitarian affairs, Mr. da Silva is also the UN HumanitarianCoordinator and Resident Coordinator for Sudan, leading the UN Country Team onhumanitarian coordination and development issues.He has had a long career with the United Nations - much of it dedicated to Africa.He has worked for the UN World Food Programme in Sudan, Senegal, Rome andChina. He was the first ever Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) in Angola during thecountry's civil war and ensuing humanitarian crisis, eventually taking on the role ofUN Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of UNDP. He was theDirector of the Division on Complex Disasters in UN headquarters in NY,Department of Humanitarian Affairs. He has also served as the HC for the Horn ofAfrica, coordinating the humanitarian response to the drought of 2000.Prior to joining the UN, Mr. da Silva was the Minister of Trade in his native country,Mozambique, and held several other government posts including in the Ministry ofInterior and Natural Disaster Prevention Commission. Educated in Portugal andFrance in economics, Mr. da Silva was an activist in the Mozambican liberationmovement.Manuel Aranda da Silva was born on 26 June 1951. He is married to Ana deCarvalho, a demographer, and has 1 son and 2 daughters.