UNDP: Steiner in, Clark out

Former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Achim Steiner, a German, has been selected to succeed Helen Clark as the new administrator of the United Nations Development Progamme (UNDP).

The United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres named the German with experience at the world organisation to head theUN agency that works to fight poverty, promote social development and enhance the empowerment of women.

Steiner, who previously served at the UN Environment Programme and headed the UN office in Kenya, was selected to succeed Helen Clark, a former New Zealand prime minister, who has steered the UNDP since 2009, according to a letter by Guterres dated Tuesday April 11, 2017.

Headquartered in New York City, the UNDP seeks to reduce poverty, improve social development and encourage women’s empowerment.

One of the candidates passed over for the post included French Environment Minister Segolene Royal, who said she was surprised because Guterres had promised a woman would take the job.

She intimated that Germany used its weight as a major UNDP donor to have Steiner chosen.

“I regret it, of course. That doesn’t gel with what was said, but c’est la vie,” Royal told French television.

Helen Clark became the Administrator of UNDP on August 17, 2009 and is the first woman to lead the organisation, She is also the Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of the heads of UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues.

The UN on Saturday in New York bid Clark farewell as her tenure comes to an end on Tuesday.