SECRETARY-GENERAL NAMES ANWARUL CHOWDHURY HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, LANDLOCKED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES

Biographical Note

SECRETARY-GENERAL NAMES ANWARUL CHOWDHURY HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR LEAST DEVELOPED

COUNTRIES, LANDLOCKED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES

The Secretary-General announced today the appointment of Anwarul Karim Chowdhury (Bangladesh) as the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.  Mr. Chowdhury recently completed his assignment (1996-2001) as Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York.  He also served as Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Chile, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela, as well as Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to the Bahamas and Guyana.

During his tenure as Permanent Representative, Mr. Chowdhury served as President of the Security Council, President of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Board, and, for more than 10 years, as the Coordinator for the Least Developed Countries in New York.  In May 2001, he led the negotiations on behalf of the least developed countries at the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries, which adopted the comprehensive Brussels Programme of Action for the present decade.  Mr. Chowdhury also chaired the Fifth (Administrative and Budgetary) Committee of the General Assembly in 1998-2000.  He served as Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council in 1997 and 1998.  From 1990-1993, Mr. Chowdhury was the UNICEF Director in Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Mr. Chowdhury was born in 1943 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  He holds a Master of Arts in Contemporary History and International Relations from the University of Dhaka.  He has been a regular contributor to journals on peace, development and human rights issues, and a speaker at academic institutions and other forums, most recently in the United States.

Mr. Chowdhury is the recipient of the U Thant Peace Award and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Gandhi Gold Medal for Culture and Peace.

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