Max Stamper, Ph.D., London School of Economics, is eager to explore your international public affairs and communication needs, and to discuss our services.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, center, the United Nations' Special Representative to Iraq.

Sergio died on Tuesday in the bombing of the U. N. headquarters in Baghdad.

Everyone is so saddened by his death; he was highly respected -- a superstar and a saint doing God's work.

He led successful peace-keeping and humanitarian missions in Bangladesh, Bosnia, Cambodia, Cyprus, East Timor, Kosovo, Lebanon, Mozambique, Peru, and Rwanda.

He was the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights when the Secretary-General asked him to take a four-month leave to be the Special U.N. Representative to rebuild Iraq.

Many felt that someday he himself would become the Secretary-General.

Sergio was born in Rio in 1948.

Nadia Younes, U.N. Chief-of-Staff, Baghdad WHO/P.Virot

I was so saddened to hear about my friend and colleague Nadia Younes.

She was U.N. Chief-of-Staff in Baghdad.

Previously she had been Chief of U.N. Protocol in New York.

I worked with Nadia on several events in New York and with UNIFEM and also with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's visits to the United Nations.

Nadia would write to me about the MAXIMS columns.

She had been the Director of the U.N. Media Division.

Earlier she had other assignments including Deputy Spokeswoman in the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General and then Director of the U.N. Information Centre in Rome.

She had worked with the World Conference of the Decade for Women and was Spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly.

Nadia Younes had also been a Press Officer in both the English and French Sections. She began her career in the United Nations in 1970 in the Office of General Services.

Nadia was born in Cairo in 1946.

I never met 32-year-old Chris Klein-Beckman of UNICEF, but I have heard so many good things about him that I feel that I knew him.

He took up his post in Iraq in May 2002, serving as the deputy of a large UNICEF operation that helped protect the lives of millions of Iraqi children before, during, and after the war.

At the time of his death he was Officer-in-Charge of UNICEF's entire operation in Iraq. Earlier he had served with UNICEF in Kosovo and before that in Ethiopia.

He was a Canadian national and is survived by his wife and parents.

Announcements were also made of the death of Ranillo Buenaventura, of the relief coordination office; Marilyn Manuel and Jean-Selim Kanaan, employees in Mr. Vieira de Mello's office; and Fiona Watson of Britain, who worked on the oil-for-food program.

The latest reports indicate that at least 20 people were killed and that at least 100 were injured. World Bank officials reported that five of its employees were missing. Also missing was Arthur Helton of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Happily, my dear friend M. Salim Lone, previously the Director of the U.N. Media Division and then Sergio Vieira de Mello's spokesperson in Baghdad survived the bombing.

Salim has encouraged me in my work since my very first MAXIMS, four or five years ago. I was very happy to find him alive and being quoted in today's Associated Press story, and then it was wonderful to actually see him being interviewed on CNN and on all the other television stations tonight.

I am still waiting to hear more news.

Max

19 August 2003

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday, 20 August 2003, 6:30 pm EDT.

Dear Dr. Stamper,

The ff were UN staff we confirmed dead yesterday:

Sergio Vieira de Mello - SRSG (Brazil)

Rick Hooper - DPA (USA)

Ranillo Buenaventura - UNOCHI (Philippines)

Jean-Selim Kanaan - OSRSG-I (Egypt)

Fiona Watson - OSRSG-I (UK)

Chris Klein-Beckman - UNICEF (UK)

Today, the following were added:

Nadia Younes – OSRSG

Martha Teas – OCHA

Sincerely,

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, New York