SPREP announces new Director-General [1]
Wednesday, September 23, 2015 - 21:17. Updated on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - 10:12.
Kosi Latu is the new Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and will take up new role in January 2016.
He will replace David Sheppard, the Director General of SPREP since October, 2009 who completes his term at the end of this year.
The appointment was nnounced by the Chair of the Selection Advisory Committee, Albon Ishoda, at the 26th SPREP Meeting of Officials currently underway in Apia this week, 22-24 September.
“SPREP members would like to congratulate him on this achievement and look forward to working with him at the helm of SPREP,” said Mr Ishoda.
Mr Latu is currently the Deputy-Director General of SPREP a position he has held since 2008. Prior to this he was Manager of a UNOPS Financial Compliance Programme based at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat from 2006-08.
He paid tribute to the current Director-General,“for his great leadership of SPREP in the last six years and for making SPREP a strong and effective organisation in the region.”
Mr Latu also worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, UK for 11 years where he was employed as a Deputy Director for the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division from 1995 to 2001 and then as Special Legal Adviser and Head of the Legal and Economic Division from 2001 until 2006. He started his career as a state prosecutor with the Attorney General’s Office in Samoa from 1990-95. He has experience in international environmental law, law of the sea and financial compliance.
The 21 Pacific island countries and territories that are members of SPREP are: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna. The five Metropolitan members of SPREP are: Australia, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.