In the first week of October 2017, Members of the AU Panel of the Wise convened in Addis Ababa to select a new President and also new members. The former President of Namibia, H.E. Hifikepunye Pohamba was elected at the Panel of the Wise President. UN Mediation Support Unit Director, Teresa Whitfield also attended this meeting alongside Nicholas Haysom, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan.