Luanda – Angolan diplomat Tete Antonio was accredited monday by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, as permanent representative of the African Union Observation Mission nera the United Nations, in New York.

Ambassador Tete Antonio,54, born in Uige, was diplomatic adviser to the chairperson of the commission of the Africa Union, Jean Ping.

A master of international economic relations by the university of Kiev, Ucraine, Tete Antonio was minister counsellor in the Angola permanent mission at the United Nations in New York, as member of the angolan delegation during the Angola mandate as non-permanent member of the UN security council (2003-2004), responsible for the african affairs.  

A fluent french, english, spanish and russian speaker, the angolan diplomat is familiar to dossiers such as the Peace Building Commission and other related to international peace and security. In 2005, he was assistant to the president of the 59th session of the UN general assembly.

His curriculum includes a degree of economic studies at Agostinho Neto University (Angola, 1979-1982), a diplomatic training at the institute of diplomatic studies in the ministry of foreign affairs of Egypt, training on prevention and management of conflicts, by the Carter Center, promoted by the African Union in Ethiopia, and a training on preventive diplomacy at the University of Columbia, New York.   

The AU observation mission near the UN was opened in 1968 with the aim to develop and maintain institutional relations between the AU and the UN institutions and promote a  common position of the African Group (made up by african ambassadors to the UN) in international negotiations.

With the strenghtening of relations between the AU and the UN, the mission started to play a crucial role in key domains of preventive diplomacy on peace and security matters, mainly on issues related to african countries high on the agenda of the UN security council and of the UN commission for peace consolidation.