United Nations confirms Amina Mohammed as Deputy Secretary-General

16 Dec 2016
Financial Nigeria

Summary

Ms. Mohammed will resume her new role as Deputy Secretary-General of the UN in March 2017.

Amina Mohammed, Nigeria's Minister of Environment and Deputy Secretary-General-designate

As United Nations Secretary-General-designate, António Guterres, picks his core team members, the 67-year-old Portuguese diplomat has announced the appointment of Nigeria's Minister of Environment, Amina J. Mohammed, as his Deputy Secretary-General.

Guterres made the announcement on Thursday through the spokesman of the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric. The Secretary-General-designate will assume office as the ninth chief of the global organization on January 1, 2017, succeeding Ban Ki-moon – the South Korean politician and diplomat who has been the UN chief since January 2007.

To demonstrate gender parity and geographical diversity among his team, Guterres also appointed Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as his Chef de Cabinet and Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to a new role as Special Advisor on Policy.

“I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Ms. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as my Deputy Secretary-General, and Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as my Chef De Cabinet," said Guterres. "I also intend to create the position of Special Advisor on Policy, and to appoint Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to this new role."

Mohammed previously served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning. The 55-year old is said to have been instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and serves on numerous international advisory boards and panels.

Guterres, a former Prime Minister of Portugal was appointed UN Secretary-General on October 13, 2016. In 2005, he was elected by the UN General Assembly to become the 10th High Commissioner for Refugees, a position he held served for a decade until the end of 2015.

“I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action. These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity,” Guterres said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the appointment of Mohammed in a phone conversation yesterday with Antonio Guterres, according to Buhari's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity. Shehu also said Ms. Mohammed will resume her new role as Deputy Secretary-General of the UN in March 2017.


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