The United Nations chief has selected Alexander De Croo, the former Belgian prime minister, to lead the U.N. Development Programme, placing another European national at the helm of the U.N.’s premier development agency at a time when the world body is struggling to meet its key development goals. He will succeed Achim Steiner, a German national, who stepped down this summer after 10 years leading the organization.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday informed the president of UNDP’s executive board of his plan to formally recommend De Croo to the U.N. General Assembly for a four-year term at the top development job, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Devex. His appointment proposal was first reported in the Belgian press.
“Following a detailed review of nominations and applications and a rigorous interview of short-listed candidates, a panel of senior advisors recommended several finalists for my consideration, and I am now pleased to inform of my intention to appoint Mr. Alexander De Croo of Belgium as the new Administrator of UNDP for a period of four years,” Guterres wrote to Andrés Efren Montalvo Sosa, Ecuador’s U.N. ambassador, who serves as president of the executive board of UNDP, U.N. Population Fund, and UNOPS.
De Croo beat out several candidates, including Izumi Nakamitsu, a veteran U.N. official from Japan; Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, a Greek-French gynecologist who served as minister of state for development, francophonie, and international partnerships; Mohamed Nasheed, a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience and the first democratically elected president of the Maldives; and a former U.N. special adviser on reform, Jens Christian Wandel of Denmark, who was said to have been an early favorite of Guterres. Norway’s former education and environment minister, Bård Vegar Solhjell, withdrew from the race to take another job.
De Croo served as Belgium’s prime minister from October 2020 to February 2025. Before that, he served in several senior government posts, including as deputy prime minister and stints as minister of finance and development.
Before entering politics, De Croo received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and worked for the Boston Consulting Group before founding his own company, Darts-ip, an intellectual property consultancy. If confirmed by the General Assembly, which appears all but certain, he will take up the new job.
His appointment comes at a time when the U.N. is facing an unprecedented financial crisis, as the U.S. and other traditional donors from Europe have scaled back their foreign assistance budgets. The U.N. campaign to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 has also seen serious setbacks in recent years. Only 35% of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are on track, according to a recent report. Eighteen percent of the goals have gone backward since 2015, the year the SDG goals were set.
About the author
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
