Ms Elizabeth Hoff was appointed as WHO Representative a.i in the Syrian Arab Republic on 5 November, 2012. A native of Norway, she earned a Masters of Education in Health and Social Administration from the District University of Volda, Norway in 1988, a Master’s of Science in Community Health, with a focus on maternal and child health from the University of California, San Francisco, USA in 1991, and finally a Diploma in International Relations/Conflict Resolution from Harvard Law School, USA in 1996.

For over more than two decades, Ms Hoff has developed an extensive experience working for many international organizations in Africa, Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe. Before being reassigned to the Syrian Arab Republic, Ms Hoff was serving as a coordinator for resource mobilization and external relations under the Emergency Risk Management and Humanitarian Response department in WHO headquarters, Geneva.