Biographical Note                                           SG/A/809*

                                                            BIO/3430*

                                                            HAB/181*

                                                            23 July 2002

SECRETARY-GENERAL NOMINATES ANNA KAJUMULO TIBAIJUKA

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UN-HABITAT

The Secretary-General informed the General Assembly yesterday morning of his intention to nominate Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka (United Republic of Tanzania) as Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) at the level of Under-Secretary-General.

The General Assembly decided in December 2001 to transform the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) into the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and, at the same time, upgrade the post of Executive Director (currently occupied by Mrs. Tibaijuka) from the Assistant Secretary-General to the Under-Secretary-General level.

After approval by the General Assembly, Mrs. Tibaijuka’s term of office would last for four years, beginning on 2 September 2002.

Mrs. Tibaijuka has headed the UN-Habitat since September 2000.  Prior to joining, she was the Special Coordinator for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked and Small Island Developing States at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  From 1993 to 1998, in addition to being an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, she was a member of her Government’s delegation to several United Nations summits.

Mrs. Tibaijuka has undertaken extensive research on agriculture, rural development and human settlements policy; trade and marketing, cooperative development and aid policy; welfare economics with a focus on education, health and nutrition, water and food security; women in development; and tropical agriculture and environmental economics.  She has also published five books and numerous articles and papers.

Born, in Tanzania on 12 October 1950, Mrs. Tibaijuka is a widow and has four children.

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*     This supersedes Press Release SG/A/739-BIO/3304-HAB/164 of 31 July 2000.