Ms Laura Londén of Finland appointed to a high office in the UN
Press release 226/2015
16 October 2015
Ms Laura Londén of Finland has been appointed to serve as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Management of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Londén will assume her new functions in December. As Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director for Management, she will be responsible for the development of the agency with special regard to the Sustainable Development Agenda and Goals adopted in the UN Summit in September.
”I’m deeply honoured by the appointment. Now that the implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals have been adopted, I’m very much looking forward to both joining UNFPA and serving at a position that is central from the perspective of the UN system and the international community at large,” Laura Londén says.
“Many of the SDGs are among the core activities of UNFPA. This is a unique opportunity which inspires and demands transformational change and improved effectiveness of UNFPA’s programmes,” she adds.
Londén is currently Director of Human Resources at UNRWA. She has over 25 years of inter-agency experience of, among other things, refugee issues, peacekeeping and administrative and management positions. Londén has worked in several UN headquarters and field offices in, for example, New York, Sierra Leone, Israel, East Timor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Austria and Croatia. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Sciences.
As an agency that concentrates on population and development matters, UNFPA promotes women's and girls' rights and sexual and reproductive health. These include, for example, support to family planning and reduction of maternal and child mortality.
Finland is one of the biggest contributors to UNFPA. Finland's core funding to the agency in 2015 is EUR 33.55 million. UNFPA is and will be the main recipient of Finland’s core funding to the UN agencies. Next year, Finland's contribution is estimated to amount to EUR 15–18 million. Gender equality and the promotion of the rights and position of women and girls are among the priorities of Finland's development policy.
Inquiries:
Tiina Nikkinen, Unit for UN Development Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 295 351 483, [email protected]
Requests for interviewing Laura Londén: Kirsi Pere, Communications Officer, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +35850 462 6313, [email protected]