Secretary-General Appoints Aya Suzuki of Japan Senior Vice-Rector United Nations University

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, following consultation with the United Nations University (UNU), announced today the appointment of Aya Suzuki of Japan as the next UNU Senior Vice-Rector. She succeeds Sawako Shirahase of Japan, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedication and service. Ms. Suzuki is a distinguished Japanese development economist whose main research interest is examining how developing countries can reduce poverty levels, with a particular focus on agricultural and industrial development.

She is a professor in the Department of International Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, at the University of Tokyo.  She also serves as Special Adviser to the President of the University of Tokyo and as Deputy Director General of the Division of University Corporate Relations. In these leadership capacities, she has championed initiatives to promote social entrepreneurship, foster international collaboration and enhance support for students from the Global South.

Ms. Suzuki serves as an Auditor for the Japanese Association for Development Economics, an Editorial Board Member for the Asian Development Review, and an honorary professor in the School of Accounting, Finance and Economics, the Division of Management, the University of Waikato (New Zealand).  She was a Founding Board Member of the Japanese Association for Development Economics.  Her previous positions include Associate/Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of International Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, the University of Tokyo; Assistant Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (Japan); Visiting Scholar, School of Accounting, Finance and Economics, the Division of Management, the University of Waikato (New Zealand); Visiting Scholar at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Research Institute; and policy advisory work with the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development.

Ms. Suzuki has published extensively on topics related to agricultural marketing and development economics.  She holds a PhD in development and agricultural economics from the University of California — Davis, United States; a Master of International Development Studies from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan; and a Bachelor of Arts in literature from Waseda University, Japan.  She is fluent in English, Japanese and speaks basic Chinese (Mandarin).