19 April 2017 – The United Nations General Assembly today confirmed the appointment of Germany’s Achim Steiner as the head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Mr. Steiner’s nomination for UNDP Administrator was forwarded to the General Assembly by Secretary-General António Guterres following consultations with UNDP’s Executive Board.
In an announcement of the four-year appointment, which begins on 20 April, Mr. Guterres noted that Mr. Steiner brings to his new position “extensive senior leadership experience both at the grassroots and at the highest levels of international policymaking addressing environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic development.”
Among his most recent experiences, Mr. Steiner was the head of the UN Environment Programme (UN Environment) and Director-General of the UN Office in Nairobi.
In today’s announcement, the Secretary-General thanked outgoing UNDP Administrator Helen Clark of New Zealand, who Mr. Guterres called “a highly effective communicator” and champion of development, among myriad key priorities.
Mr. Steiner takes the helm of UNDP, the largest of the independently funded UN agencies, which, under its special General Assembly mandate, leads the world body’s work on eradicating extreme poverty and promoting good governance in the developing world.
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