Nicholas Haysom


Nicholas Haysom is a South African lawyer and diplomat who focuses on democratic governance, constitutional and electoral reforms and the reconciliation and peace process.

Education

Haysom was schooled at Michaelhouse in Natal, South Africa. Subsequently, he studied at the University of Natal and the University of Cape Town and holds a degree in Law. In 2012, he also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Cape Town.

Career

Haysom has held high-level positions within both the United Nations and the Government of South Africa. During the period of 1999 to 2002, Haysom was involved in the Burundi peace talks and held the position as chair of the committee negotiating constitutional issues. Prior to joining the United Nations in 2005, he held the position of principal adviser to the mediator in the Sudanese Peace Process and as chief legal and constitutional adviser in the office of South African President Nelson Mandela. From 2005 to 2007, Haysom held the position of head of the Office of Constitutional Support for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. From 2007 to 2012, he held the position of director for Political, Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General.
In 2012, Haysom was appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and in 2014 he was appointed as Special Representative of the mission. Succeeding Haile Menkerios, he was appointed as Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan in March of 2016.
In 2018, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Haysom as his Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia.
He was expelled from the country on Jan 1, 2019, by the Somalia government under the administration of Muhamed Abdullahi which claimed that he had threatened the sovereignty of the country after questioning the legal basis of the arrest of Mukhtar Robow. The U.N. Security Council expressed regret at Somalia’s decision to expel a U.N. envoy who questioned the arrest of an extremist group defector-turned-political candidate.