HAMILTON, Canada

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed Steven Hill as the new UN legal affairs chief.

"United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Steven Hill of the United States as Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs," said a statement by the spokesperson's office.

Saying that Hill "succeeds Stephen Mathias, also of the United States," Guterres expressed "his deep gratitude for his dedicated service and long-standing commitment to the Organization."

"Mr. Hill brings over twenty years of experience working on international legal issues in multilateral organizations, national government and in academia," the statement said, adding that he is "currently serving, since 2022, as Executive Secretary of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law, an intergovernmental organization."

Previously serving as the legal adviser and director of the office of legal affairs at NATO, Hill served at the US National Security Council as well as in the Department of State.

Hill is fluent in French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.