Secretary-General appoints Khalida Bouzar of Algeria Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Khalida Bouzar of Algeria as the next Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  She succeeds Mourad Wahba of Egypt, currently Associate Administrator ad interim at UNDP, and Sarah Poole of the United States, who is the Officer-in-Charge of the Regional Bureau for Arab States.

Ms. Bouzar has served since 2012 as Regional Director for the Near East, North Africa and Europe at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), where she established and led large-scale programmes and operations.  She brings more than 35 years of leadership experience at the international and national levels, including 25 years in the United Nations system.

Her academic background, technical expertise, career path and interests cover a wide spectrum of development issues, including sustainable development, rural development, environment, climate change, migration, economics and industry, largely in fragile and conflict contexts.

Ms. Bouzar has extensive knowledge of the Arab region, as well as the workings of the United Nations and its specialized agencies across policy, programmes, management and operations at the global, regional and national levels.

She holds a PhD in science from the University of Sciences, Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris.