António Guterres, the new United Nations secretary-general, on Thursday announced the appointment of Nigeria’s minister of the environment, Amina Mohammed, as his deputy.
Guterres also announced the appointments of Ms Maria Viotti of Brazil and Ms Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea into high-profile positions at the UN, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Speaking through his spokesman Mr Stephane Dujarric, the UN boss said: “I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Ms Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as my deputy secretary-general, and Ms Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as my chef de cabinet. “I also intend to create the position of special advisor on policy, and to appoint Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to this new role.
“I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action.”
“These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity,” Guterres said.
Amina Mohammed, 55, has a British mother and a Nigerian father.
He had served as UN under-secretary-general and special adviser to outgoing secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning. She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals. Before joining the UN, Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as special adviser on the Millennium Development Goals. She provided advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating poverty reduction interventions.
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