Dr. Noeleen Heyzer is the first woman since 1947 to serve as an Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Currently the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Timor-Leste, she is an expert on sustainable development issues.
Dr. Heyzer served previously as the first Executive Director from the South to head the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Under her leadership, UNIFEM assisted over one hundred countries in the formulation and implementation of legislation and policies that promote women’s security and rights. This resulted in the removal of discriminatory practices, changes in inheritance laws for women, better working conditions for migrant workers, women’s full participation in several peace negotiations and electoral processes including in Liberia, Rwanda and Timor-Leste, and the inclusion of women as full citizens in the constitution of Afghanistan.
Dr. Heyzer played a critical role in helping the Security Council pass Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, undertaking extensive missions to conflict-affected countries worldwide. She was responsible for the establishment of the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women.
She has served in various boards and advisory committees including being Member of Board of Trustees of Asian Institute of Technology, and the UNDP’s Human Development Report. She is also strengthening the United Nations Special Programme for Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).
Dr. Heyzer holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science degree from the University of Singapore. She earned a Doctorate in social sciences from Cambridge University.
QUICK FACTS
NAME
Noeleen Heyzer
BIRTHDATE
1948
EDUCATION
University of Singapore,
Cambridge University
PLACE OF BIRTH
Singapore
RESIDENCY
Singapore
LANGUAGES
English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil
Ameerah Haq completed a distinguished, 38-year career with the United Nations in 2014, most recently serving in the position of Under-Secretary-General for Field Support in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO).
Born in then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, Ms. Haq credits her lifelong curiosity about the world to the convent boarding school education she received in her youth. After her parents were encouraged to give their daughters the opportunity for an education different than that typically found in Dhaka society at the time, Ms. Haq recalls that, “I think it opened up a lot for me.” Ms. Haq earned a scholarship to study at Western College for Women in Oxford, OH. She then went on to earn separate Master’s degrees, each at Columbia University and New York University.
During her graduate work, Ms. Haq interviewed with the UN and was hired in 1976 as a Junior Professional Officer with the UN Development Programme (UNDP). She served in field assignments in Indonesia and Afghanistan, followed by postings to UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific until 1990. As the focal point for aid coordination mechanisms, she worked as Desk Officer for Thailand, Myanmar, and Bhutan, alongside a parallel posting with the United Nations Development Fund for Women from 1985 to 1987.
Ms. Haq was appointed UNDP Resident Representative to Laos from 1991 to 1994, and subsequently UNDP Resident Representative to Malaysia. While stationed in Malaysia, she was named to the position of UN Resident Coordinator of Malaysia, a position she held until 1997. She was then appointed Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, and also held positions of Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General as well as UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan. From 2009 to 2014, Ms. Haq served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste and Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).
Since her departure from the UN, Ms. Haq serves as Vice Chair of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s High-Level Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations for the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.
QUICK FACTS
NAME
Ameerah Haq
BIRTHDATE
unknown
EDUCATION
Western College, Columbia University, New York University
PLACE OF BIRTH
Dhaka, Bangladesh
RESIDENCY
Geneva, Switzerland
LANGUAGES
English, Bengali