People in the Headlines

From New York, news has come that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recently appointed a special representative for migration; Peter Sutherland. A former Attorney General of Ireland, former European Union Commissioner and former Director-General of the GATT and WTO, among others, Mr. Sutherland will assist in the preparation of the high-level dialogue on international migration and development to be held by the General Assembly in September.
Also in the field of migration at Headquarters, Bela Hovy has been appointed as Chief of the Migration Section of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Hovy was responsible for population statistics at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva.
From UNFPA Headquarters, news has come that Deputy Executive Director for Management Imelda J.M. Henkin officially retired on 31 December 2005. Ms. Henkin, who joined UNFPA in 1974, contributed over 30 years of dedicated and distinguished services to the United Nations. She worked in many capacities at the Fund, including as Programme Officer for both the African and Asian Divisions, as Chief of the Office of the Executive Director and Director of both the Asian and Pacific Divisions. At one point, she also served as Country Director in Nepal.
From UNFPA Country Office, Thailand, Wassana Im-em has been appointed as the new Assistant Representative starting 1 February. Prior to joining UNFPA, Ms. Im-em was associate professor with the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University. Her research areas include reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence.
Her appointment follows the departure of Pornchai Suchita, formerly Assistant Representative in Thailand to the position of Assistant Representative in Bangladesh.