Meet Nigeria’s Amina Mohammed newly appointed UN Deputy Secretary-General

Meet Nigeria’s Amina Mohammed newly appointed UN Deputy Secretary-General

António Guterres the new UN Secretary-General on Thursday announced Nigeria’s Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed, as his Deputy Secretary-General.

Guterres made the announcement through the spokesman of the Secretary-General, Mr. Stephane Dujarric. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Guterres also announced the duo of Ms. Maria Viotti of Brazil and Ms. Kyung-Wha Kang of the Republic of Korea into high-profile positions at the UN. “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.

Mohammed, Nigeria’s current Minister of Environment, served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the 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 Millennium Development Goals.