The interview was recorded in New York City,on February 16, 1999.The Interviewer was James S. Sutterlin. Prior to joining the Secretariat in 1985, Frederic Eckhard worked 12 years for the United Nations Association of the United States of America, where he was Chief Editor and Vice President. When he first joined the United Nations, he worked as an information officer on the subject of the United Nations financial crisis. He was Spokesman in the field for two United Nations peacekeeping operations—in Namibia (1989-1990) and in former Yugoslavia. He became the first Spokesman for the United Nation Protection Force (UNPROFOR) and was based in Sarajevo when the war broke out in 1992. Mr. Eckhard became the first-ever joint spokesman for the United Nations and the European Community when he was named joint spokesman for the co-chairs of the International Conference for the Former Yugoslavia in 1992. Mr. Eckhard specialized in peacekeeping as Associate Spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. He first joined the United Nations Spokesman's Office under Secretary General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar in 1988. In 1996, he was working under Kofi Annan in the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) as the chief liaison officer. In January 1997, Mr. Eckhard was appointed Spokesman for United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, and served in that capacity until his retirement in June 2005. These interviews were conducted while he was serving that position. The first interview, conducted on 16 February 1999, focused on Mr. Eckhard's personal experiences as spokesman on the field in Namibia during its independence. The second set of interviews was held on 10 May 2005 and 7 June 2005, they centred on Mr. Eckhard's evaluation on Secretary-General Kofi Annan's term.