UNITED NATIONS, New York, 3 October 2017 — Dr. Natalia Kanem was appointed Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, today by Secretary-General António Guterres. She holds the rank of United Nations Under-Secretary-General.
Dr. Kanem, a Panamanian, is the Fund’s fifth Executive Director. She had been serving as Acting Executive Director since June, and as Deputy Executive Director, Programme, since July 2016. She was also the UNFPA Representative in the United Republic of Tanzania from 2014 to 2016 and has held senior positions in the Ford Foundation and other non-governmental organizations and institutions.
Dr. Kanem holds a doctor of medicine degree from Columbia University and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Washington. She is also a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University in history and science.
