Our Team in Azerbaijan

Ms. Anna Soave was formally appointed Head of UN-Habitat’s Country Office in Azerbaijan in early April 2024, but has been working in Baku since mid-2023. She is an urban development practitioner with more than 25 years of international experience with a particular focus on post-conflict contexts, low-income informal settlements, and dilapidated historic neighbourhoods. Prior to this appointment, she has worked for many years in Iraq, implementing for UN-Habitat several urban recovery and institutional development programmes, and in Afghanistan, as an urban planner for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), and project manager for a US-based consultancy company. Anna holds an MSc in Building & Urban Design from the Development Planning Unit (DPU) of the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, in London, and a degree in Architecture from the Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

Dr Hande Harmanci took office as WHO Representative and Head of Country Office in Azerbaijan in August 2018. Prior to her appointment, Dr Harmanci worked in various positions in WHO Headquarters in the areas of human resources for health, pandemic preparedness, influenza and viral hepatitis. Previously, she was a professor of public health and community medicine in Marmara University, Istanbul. Dr. Harmanci graduated from Hacettepe University Medical School and holds Doctor of Public Health Degree. She is an amateur ceramicist.

Mr. Garafulic is currently serving as the United Nations Resident Coordinator ad interim in Azerbaijan. He brings extensive experience in international development, economic policy, political dialogue, and multilateral coordination, gained through senior leadership roles within the United Nations system and public service across Latin America and beyond.

He has been serving as the United Nations Resident Coordinator ad interim in Paraguay since October 2024 until 2025. He previously served as United Nations Resident Coordinator in Peru (2019–2024) and Honduras (2018–2019).

Prior to his Resident Coordinator appointments, Mr. Garafulic held several senior positions with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), including Country Director in Guatemala (2014–2018), Chief of Staff for the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (2010–2014), and Senior Advisor for the UNDP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (2010).

Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Garafulic served as Governor of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago (2008–2010) and held senior economic and diplomatic roles within the Government of Chile, including as Head of Agricultural Negotiations with Japan, Korea, and China and Director of Multilateral Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006–2008), representing Chile in WTO, APEC, and OECD accession negotiations. Mr. Garafulic holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford and a degree in Economics from the University of Chile. In addition to Spanish, he speaks English, Swedish, and Portuguese.

Kaori Ishikawa is Country Representative in Georgia and Liaison for South Caucasus at UN Women. Prior to her assignment in Georgia, she was the Head of Office for UNFPA Mongolia. Ms. Ishikawa served in a number of UNFPA Country Offices and Sub-Offices with large and complex operations, including Lao PDR, Yemen, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Myanmar. She also served in UNFPA Arab States Regional Office (ASRO) in Cairo and Gender, Human Rights and Culture Branch of Technical Division of UNFPA HQ in New York as Gender Specialist.

Mr. Lars Johan Lönnback is the Chief of Mission ad interim at IOM Azerbaijan, as well as Chief of Mission at IOM Georgia, which is Country Office with Coordination Function for Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Moldova.


Lars has worked with IOM for over 15 years, designing and implementing strategies to manage migration in multiple contexts including in development, emergency and post-crisis settings in Europe and Asia Pacific region.


Prior to Georgia, Lars served as the Chief of Mission in Moldova for the past five years, playing an instrumental role in IOM's response, overseeing the provision of humanitarian assistance and support to Ukrainian

refugees. His career at IOM began as Head of Division and Senior Migration Policy Advisor at the headquarters in Geneva. He later served as Senior Migration Policy Advisor on Migration and Development at the IOM Regional Office for Asia Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mr. Nasar Hayat took office as representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Head of FAO Partnership and Liaison Office in Azerbaijan in July 2023.

Mr. Nasar Hayat has more than 25 years of leadership and management experience. He previously served as the FAO Country Representative in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Active in various fields, Mr. Hayat has held many positions in the public sector, including diplomatic posts as Deputy FAO Representative in Pakistan, Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan and Chargé d'affaires in the Maldives.

He has also worked on UN project management, agricultural development, land rights, human rights and gender issues for donors and international organizations. During his tenure, Mr. Hayat worked in important areas such as climate change adaptation, efficient water resources management, and animal disease control.
Nasar Hayat holds a Masters in Law and Development from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Olga V. Koulaeva was appointed Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia on 1 November 2016. Since February 2010, she had served as a Senior Employment Specialist at the ILO DWT/CO for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Ms Koulaeva graduated from the Moscow State University Department of Economics and holds a Ph. D. in Economics. She is fluent in English and Swedish. In 2002-2005, she was Financial Manager and Project Director with the Swedish National Labour Market Board and the Swedish Public Employment Service.

Dr. Shkolnikov is the Senior Human Rights Adviser for the South Caucasus, OHCHR, since July 2011. Prior to this, he held positions with various European civil society organizations. He served as the Head of Democratization Department and the Adviser on Migration and Freedom of Movement at OSCE/ODIHR in Warsaw. Dr Shkolnikov also held the position of Resident Research Consultant at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California. He earned his Ph. D. and Master’s Degree in Public Policy Analysis at the RAND Graduate School of Policy Studies in Santa Monica.