Araya Desta is an Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

n diplomat. He has been the Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 and Permanent Representative

Permanent Representative

A Permanent Representative is the head of a diplomatic mission to one of various international organisations. The best known of the organisations to which states send Permanent Representatives is the United Nations; of these, the most high-profile ones are those assigned to headquarters in New...

 of Eritrea to the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 in New York since 2006.

Araya was born in Senafe

Senafe

Senafe is a market town in southern Eritrea, on the edge of the Ethiopian highlands. The surrounding area is inhabited by the Saho people and the Tigrinya people....

, and in 1969 received a Diploma in Weather Forecasting from the Stanmore Meteorological Training Centre in London. From 1972 to 1976, he was Head of the Meteorological Application Section of the Ethiopian Meteorological Services in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

, and from 1963 to 1972, he served as Weather Forecaster for the Civil Aviation Administration in Asmara

Asmara

Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...

.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics at the University of Nairobi

University of Nairobi

The University of Nairobi is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution goes back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970 when the University of East Africa was split into three independent universities: Makerere University in...

, Kenya, in 1980, and a master’s degree in atmospheric physics at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, Canada, in 1985. Araya worked as a Computer Programmer for the Amoco Canada Petroleum Company in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

 from 1980 to 1982.
Between 1982 and 1991, Araya served on the Board of the Eritrean Relief Association in Khartoum

Khartoum

Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...

, Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

. From 1982 to 1993, he was Executive Director and Chair of the Eritrean Relief Association-Canada Board of Directors in Ottawa.

Araya then served as First Secretary and Consul at the Eritrean Consulate Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 from 1993 to 1994. From 1994 to 2001, he was Minister's Counsellor of Eritrea’s embassy in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, while simultaneously serving as a Permanent Representative to the United Nations for his country from 1997 to 2002. He then served as the Eritrean ambassador to the Nordic countries, residing in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, from 2002 to 2005.

External links

• Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations: Mission Staff