Amina Mohammed, Nigeria’s immediate past Minister of Environment, has been sworn-in as the fifth Deputy Secretary-General of the UN at the UN Headquar
Amina Mohammed, Nigeria’s immediate past Minister of Environment, has been sworn-in as the fifth Deputy Secretary-General of the UN at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres administered the oath of office to Mohammed and immediately, the newly sworn in Deputy UN chief, swung into action by declaring open the 2017 Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Segment on Operational Activities for Development. Her speech at the ECOSOC event was her first official engagement, followed by a brief press encounter with the UN Correspondents.
Mohammed, who was appointed by Guterres on Dec. 15, 2016, as his deputy, was supposed to have assumed office on Jan. 1, 2017. She, however, delayed the assumption of her new role at the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to complete some ongoing responsibilities she was handling at that time. The office of the UN Deputy Secretary-General was formally established by the General Assembly in 1997 to handle many of the administrative responsibilities of the Secretary-General. As the fifth Deputy Secretary-General, Mohammed will help to manage the UN Secretariat operations, and ensure inter-sectoral and inter-institutional coherence of activities and programmes.
She will also support the Secretary-General in elevating the profile and leadership of the UN in the economic and social spheres, including further efforts to strengthen the UN as a leading centre for development policy and development assistance. In accepting the appointment, Mohammed had said she was humbled at the opportunity to serve humanity. She added that the opportunity and responsibility to serve people and planet as the next UN Deputy Secretary-General is truly humbling.
Mohammed served in the UN Under-Secretary-General and was Special Adviser to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning. She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the SDGs. Before joining the UN, Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on MDGs. She provided advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating poverty reduction interventions.
NAN
