UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 17 -- U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali Friday appointed veteran journalist Sylvana Foa as his spokeswoman, the first woman to serve in that capacity for a U.N. leader. Foa, 50, who is currently working for the Rome-based World Food Program, will assume her post Jan. 1, 1996, according to a U.N. statement.
Before working for WFP, Foa, a California native, was a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. From 1971 to 1986, she worked for United Press International, first in Asia during the Vietnam war and later in Washington, as foreign editor. Foa will be the first woman to head the U.N. leader's media office at U.N. headquarters in New York. She replaces Joe Sills, who has been named head of the U.N. information center in Washington.
