UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday appointed US diplomat Catherine Russell to head the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2021) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday appointed US diplomat Catherine Russell to head the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing.
"Following consultations with the Executive board of the UNICEF, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced today the appointment of Catherine M. Russell of the United States as the Fund's next Executive Director," Dujarric said.
Russell will succeed US' Henrietta Fore, to whom Guterres is grateful for her leadership of UNICEF and its role in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dujarric said.
Russell is currently serving as the Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office. From 2013 to 2017, she served as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues at the US Department of State.
Previously, Russell served as chief of staff to the Second Lady of the United States, Jill Biden, Deputy Assistant to the President at the White House under President Barack Obama, Senior Adviser on International Women's Issues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice and Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Catherine Russell will bring a wealth of expertise to UNICEF's work, and I am delighted to hand over to someone with her knowledge, experience, and deep care for children and women," UNICEF outgoing Executive Director Henrietta Fore said following the appointment.
UNICEF said Russell will assume her new functions in early 2022.
