New York: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Siddharth Chatterjee of India as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, with the host Government’s approval.
Chatterjee has more than 25 years of experience in international cooperation, sustainable development, humanitarian coordination and peace and security, which he has acquired at the United Nations and externally.
Most recently, he served as United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya, where he worked with the Government and the people of Kenya to ensure the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals aligned to the Big Four development agenda and Vision 2030.
Inspired by Nelson Mandela’s poignant words, “As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest”, Chatterjee has served in war-ravaged and fragile parts of the world. He has seen first hand many human tragedies and triumphs.
Before becoming the UNRC, he was the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative to Kenya and fighting for the rights, equality and empowerment of women and girls, “something I continue to do in my role as the UNRC”. Prior to joining UNFPA, he was the Chief Diplomat and Head of Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Before that he had served the UN since 1997 in Peace Keeping operations, UNICEF and the United Nations Office for Project Services in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He had served as Regional Director for the Middle East and Europe for the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Denmark and Chief of Staff in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). He also held leadership positions with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Indonesia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, and in United Nations peacekeeping operations with the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH).
Chatterjee had started as an officer in a Special Forces unit of the Indian Army and was decorated for gallantry by the President of India. He has a Masters in Public Policy from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He has also written extensively on a range of social issues. His articles have featured in Newsweek, Forbes Africa, CNBC Africa, the Hill, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, Al Jazeera, Forbes, Huffington Post, Reuters, the Guardian, as well as leading Kenyan and Indian journals.
“I am committed to improving the lives and prospects of the most vulnerable. Join me in advancing human rights, dignity and humanity,” he mentions in his Linkedin profile.
– globalbihari bureau
