Secretary-General Appoints 14 New Members to Council of United Nations University

 

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Director-General Irina Bokova of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have appointed 14 new members to the governing Council of United Nations University (United Nations University Council).  The new appointees replace members retiring from the Council in 2010.  They will serve for a term of six years (2010–2016) and will join 10 members of the United Nations University Council who were appointed in 2007.

The main functions of the United Nations University Council are to formulate the principles and policies of the University, govern its operations, and consider and approve its biennial budget and work programme.  Appointed members of the United Nations University Council serve in their individual capacity (not as representatives of their country’s Government), and are selected with the aim of achieving a geographic and gender balance, with due regard for major academic, scientific, educational and cultural trends, as well as each member’s fields of expertise.

In accordance with Article IV of the United Nations University Charter, United Nations University Council members are appointed jointly by the United Nations Secretary-General and the Director-General of UNESCO, in consultation with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and other concerned United Nations agencies and programmes.

The 14 newly appointed members of the United Nations University Council are:  Professor Nobuyasu Abe (Japan), Director, Centre for the Promotion of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Japan Institute of International Affairs, and former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs; Dr. J. Michael Adams (United States), President, Fairleigh Dickinson University; Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon (France), Director, Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, Research Director, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Dr. Rahma Bourqia (Morocco), President, Hassan II University - Mohammedia, Casablanca; Senator Cristovam Buarque (Brazil), Member, Federal Senate, and Professor, University of Brasilia; and Dame Fiona Caldicott (United Kingdom), Immediate Past Principal, Somerville College, Oxford, and immediate Past Pro-Vice Chancellor, Personnel and Equal Opportunities, University of Oxford, and Chairman, Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust.

Also:  Tan Sri Dato’, Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan (Malaysia), Honorary Director, Institute for Research and Innovation, Wawasan Open University; Professor Mohamed H.A. Hassan (Sudan), Executive Director, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), Trieste; Professor Zellynne Deloris Jennings-Craig (Jamaica), Director, School of Education/Deputy Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Education, University of the West Indies; Jin Xiaoming (China), Director General, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Technology; Professor Konstantin Khudoley (Russian Federation), Vice-President of the University Council and Senate, Vice-Rector for International Affairs, St. Petersburg State University; Professor Lily Kong (Singapore), Vice-President for University and Global Relations, Director of Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore; Lydia Shouleva (Bulgaria), former member of the European Parliament, and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy; and Mala Singh (South Africa), Professor of International Higher Education Policy, Centre for Higher Education Research and Information, the Open University, United Kingdom.

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For information media • not an official record