Olav Kjørven appointed to top UN position

Norway’s Olav Kjørven has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General and a Director of UNDP, the UN Development Programme. Minister of International Development Erik Solheim welcomes the appointment.

- I was very pleased when the head of UNDP, Kemal Dervis, called me before Christmas and told me that he planned to give Olav Kjørven this job. It is important for Norway to have Norwegians in central UN positions. This appointment ensures that we do, said Mr Solheim. 

Mr Kjørven will head UNDP’s Bureau for Development Policy. Its responsibilities include the preparation of the annual Human Development Report. 

Mr Kjørven was a State Secretary under Minister of International Development Hilde Frafjord Johnson. In 2005, he was appointed Director of UNDP’s Energy and Environment Group. He has previously worked in the World Bank, the consulting company Econ and as a political adviser in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

- Along with Geir O. Pedersen, Mr Kjørven is now among the most senior Norwegian officials in the UN. It is good to see that he has done such a good job in UNDP that he was selected for this important position, said Mr Solheim. 

Olav Kjørven started his new job on Monday 12 February.