United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Joyce Msuya of the United Republic of Tanzania as Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
She succeeds Ursula Mueller of Germany, to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for her leadership and dedicated service during her tenure. The Secretary-General also wishes to extend his appreciation to Ramesh Rajasingham who has been serving as Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs since March 2020.
Since 2018, Ms. Msuya has served as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, Kenya. In this position, she was responsible for a $455 million budget and a portfolio of projects and operations valued at over $1 billion, delivered through 2,500 personnel in 41 offices and headquarters. She provided administrative leadership to 18 Multilateral Environmental Agreements secretariats, including Regional Sea Conventions. Between 2018 and 2019, she served as interim Executive Director at the Under-Secretary-General level, steering the organization towards stability, leading the fourth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly and mobilizing resources to support its mission.
She brings to the position more than 20 years of experience in international development and finance, spanning strategy, operations and partnerships, with diverse assignments in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Ms. Msuya has held several senior leadership roles at the World Bank Group, including as Special Representative and Head of the World Bank Group Office in the Republic of Korea, Regional Coordinator at the World Bank Institute based in China and Special Adviser to the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. She also led strategy and operations for the International Finance Corporation in Latin America and Africa, covering the manufacturing, agribusiness and services sectors.
A national of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ms. Msuya holds a Master of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and immunology from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. She is fluent in English, Swahili and Pare.
