Who's who in #globaldev: November 2018 appointments

United Nations A new diplomat is taking over one of the toughest jobs at the United Nations. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Norwegian Geir O. Pedersen as his next special envoy for Syria, the fourth person to fill the position since the conflict started in 2011. Pedersen brings decades of political and diplomatic experience to the job and has a deep familiarity with the U.N. He previously served as U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon and director of the Asia-Pacific division in the Department of Political Affairs, among other roles. As a Norwegian diplomat, he has also served as Norway’s representative to the Palestinian Authority between 1998-2003, and its permanent representative to the U.N. until 2017. He was serving as ambassador to China when asked to take up his new U.N. role. Pederson will succeed Italian diplomat Staffan de Mistura, who has spent the past four years trying to find a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict in Syria. Before de Mistura, the position was held by Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Annan died in August without having seen peace settle in Syria. UN Environment Erik Solheim resigned as executive director of UNEP in November following controversy over his travel expenses. The new acting head of the organization is Tanzanian environmental scientist Joyce Msuya, who was just three months into her role as Solheim’s deputy. Msuya joined UNEP with 20 years of experience at the World Bank, where she had most recently served as adviser to the vice president on East Asia and the Pacific region. From 2014-2017, Msuya established and led the World Bank’s operations in South Korea. UNICEF Millie Bobby Brown has become the U.N. Children’s Fund’s newest and youngest goodwill ambassador at the age of 14. The British actress has supported the U.N. program on a number of occasions over the past two years. In her new role, the “Stranger Things” star hopes to raise issues surrounding education, bullying, and violence, to help promote a safe environment for children globally. She revealed she had been a victim of bullying, particularly cyberbullying, in an Instagram post. “I am looking forward to meeting as many children and young people as I can, hearing their stories, and speaking out on their behalf,” she said in a statement. World Vision International Christian charity World Vision International will have a new president and CEO starting February 2019 — Andrew Morley, who is currently the organization’s global chief collaboration officer, in charge of overseeing its strategy, marketing, culture, legal, and finance areas, among others. He will succeed Kevin Jenkins, who has served as World Vision’s head since 2009. Morley takes over the role as World Vision implements a new global strategy. In a statement, World Vision International Board Chair Donna Shepherd said she is confident that Morley’s knowledge of World Vision will strengthen the charity’s work with vulnerable children and communities around the world. CAFOD The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England & Wales, has announced Christine Allen as its new director. Allen previously worked for CAFOD, but prior to the appointment had been serving as director of policy and public affairs at Christian Aid. She was also executive director of the now-defunct British charity Progressio from 2001-2012. Allen will take up the position in the second quarter of 2019. OECD Will Davis is the new head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Washington Center. He will lead the organization’s public affairs and communications across the United States and Canada, and will serve as liaison to government departments and ministries. Prior to this role, Davis served in different U.N. and United States government positions, including as director of the U.N. Development Programme and the U.N. Information Center in Washington, D.C. He also previously served as deputy director for public affairs at the OECD headquarters in Paris, France.