UN approves Costa Rica’s Grynspan to head UNCTAD

Economist Rebecca Grynspan is the first woman and Central American to lead the UN agency promoting trade and development.

The UN General Assembly on June 12 approved the nomination of Costa Rican economist Rebecca Grynspan to head the UN agency promoting trade and development, the first woman and Central American to lead the Geneva-based organisation. She was nominated by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It supports developing countries in their efforts to benefit from the globalised economy and to deal with potential drawbacks from economic integration. Since 2014, Ms. Grynspan has been secretary-general of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, which supports preparations for Ibero-American summits. From 2010 to 2014, she was the deputy administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).