Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Grete Faremo of Norway Executive Director,

 

United Nations Office for Project Services

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, following consultations with the Executive Board of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), announced today the appointment of Grete Faremo of Norway as Executive Director of UNOPS.

She will replace Jan Mattsson of Sweden to whom the Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for his outstanding contribution and commitment in spearheading UNOPS work.

Ms. Faremo brings a wealth of experience to the position, having served for several years as a senior minister in the Norwegian Government, most recently as Minister of Justice and Public Security from 2011-2013 (and 1992-1996).  Prior to this, she was Minister of Defence, Minister of Petroleum and Energy, as well as Minister for Development Aid, Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

In 1997 she pursued a commercial career initially as Chief of Staff in the Norwegian insurance group Storebrand and part of the executive management team doing the business turnaround.  Ms. Faremo also worked at Microsoft Corporation as Director for Law and Corporate Affairs, a position in which she established a new legal and public affairs division initially focusing on the Nordics and later on Western Europe.

Born in 1955, Ms. Faremo holds a Master of Laws from the University of Oslo, Norway.

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