Secretary-General Appoints Jan Beagle of New Zealand Under-Secretary-General for Management

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Jan Beagle of New Zealand as the next Under-Secretary-General for Management.  She will succeed Yukio Takasu of Japan to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his commitment and dedicated service to the Organization.

Ms. Beagle brings to the position more than 35 years of experience in the political, development and inter-agency work of the Organization, coupled with extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in the management of human resources, finance, budget, information technology, administrative services and operations.  She has made important contributions in leading and advancing change management initiatives in the Secretariat and at the level of the United Nations system.

Currently, Ms. Beagle is Deputy Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).  Prior to this position, she was Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (2008-2009) and Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management (2005-2007).

Ms. Beagle joined the United Nations in 1979 in the Department of Political and Security Council Affairs.  Since then, she has served the Organization in various capacities, including as Director of the Division for Organizational Development of the Office of Human Resources Management (1996-2005); Principal Officer in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (1992-1996); Special Assistant to the Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (1990-1992); Senior Officer in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management and Special Assistant to the Controller (1989-1990); and Political Affairs Officer and subsequently Senior Political Affairs Officer (1979-1989).

She has been a member of, and chaired, a number of United Nations system inter-agency bodies, including the Human Resources Network, the High-level Committee on Management and the United Nations Development Group Assistant Secretary-General Group.  Ms. Beagle is an International Geneva Gender Champion and Co-Chair of the Champions Working Group on Change Management.

Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Beagle served in her country’s diplomatic service, including five years as a delegate of New Zealand to the United Nations.

Ms. Beagle holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in history and international relations from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.  She is married and has three daughters.

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*     This supersedes Press Release SG/A/1100-BIO/3942 of 18 October 2007.