People in the headlines

Kunio Waki

From Headquarters, news has come of the retirement of Mr. Kunio Waki, United Nations Assistant-Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Programmes, UNFPA, effective from 30 January 2007. Mr. Waki has had a distinguished career in development cooperation and international administration, including with the Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency (now JICA) of Japan and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Mr. Waki had also served as Associate Director of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), prior to joining the Fund in February 2000.
Mr. Waki is currently Visiting Professor at the School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University, Sanda, Kobe, Japan.

Also, at UNFPA Headquarters, Ms. Neela Jayaratnam has been appointed Senior Programme Adviser, Asia-Pacific Division, following the retirement of Mr. Satish Mehra in September 2006 (see Headliners No. 314). Among other recent staff movements within APD, it is to be noted that from Headquarters Ms. Mariolein Coren has been appointed Deputy Representative to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, effective September 2006, Ms. Aida Alshanova, formely based in Kazakhstan, has been appointed Programme Specialist, APD. Also, Mr. Ricardo Federico Neupert, formely in Chile has taken up an assignment in Timor Leste, as Chief Technical Adviser, effective November 2006. Further East in Fiji, Mr. John Timothy Sladden, formerly based in Australia, has been appointed advisor as of January 2007.