United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Ms. Ivana Živković of Croatia as Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator and the new Director for the Regional Bureau for Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  

Currently serving as the Director-General for Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, Ms. Živković brings over 25 years of experience in development, regional cooperation, trade and economic diplomacy  to her new role. She has previously held a number of positions in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and has played a leading role in setting up the framework for international development cooperation in Croatia. During Croatia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ms. Živković led the coordination of the trade and development portfolios.

She succeeds Ms. Mirjana Spoljaric-Egger of Switzerland, who has been elected as the new President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Welcoming the new appointment, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said, “I extend my sincere congratulations and warm welcome to Ivana Živković as she assumes her new role and look forward to working closely with her in these uncertain times to deliver UNDP’s Strategic Plan and mission to accelerate sustainable development and achieve a resilient future for all.”

“I would also like to express my deep appreciation and heartfelt thanks to Mirjana Spoljaric-Egger for her leadership, exceptional commitment and years of dedicated service in UNDP. I wish her the very best for her future endeavors,” added Steiner.

Ms. Živković will be assuming her role, starting October 2022. She holds a Master’s degree in International Economics from the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Zagreb.