Neil Buhne
Senior Deputy Director
UNDP
Switzerland

Biography
Neil Buhne joined UNDP?s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) in February 2011, as Director of the Geneva Liaison Office.

He has served with the United Nations as Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in three countries for 12 years, since joining the United Nations 25 years ago. From 2007 until February 2011 he served as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Sri Lanka. From 2003 to 2007 he was RC/RR in Bulgaria, which at the time was the largest UNDP programme in Europe and the CIS, and before that, from 1999 to 2003, in Belarus.

In Sri Lanka, Mr. Buhne worked in very close cooperation with BCPR on a full range of issues from disaster risk reduction, early recovery, mine action and small arms to conflict sensitivity.

Prior to that he spent many years in Asia, as UNDP Deputy Representative in Malaysia (and acting RC/RR for 20 months) from 1995 to 1999, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative in Pakistan from 1990 to 1995 and Programme Officer in UNDP Bhutan. In 1985 and 1986 he served with UNDP and other agencies as Junior Professional Officer in Sudan on humanitarian and recovery issues.

He holds an M.A. from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University Ottawa, Canada.