Omar Abdi | |
---|---|
Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office July 2014 | |
Appointed by | Ban Ki-moon |
Personal details | |
Born | Somalia |
Profession | Diplomat |
Omar Abdi is a Somali-Canadian diplomat. He serves as the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Education
Abdi has a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the Somali National University in Mogadishu. He later received a doctoral degree in development economics and a master's in regional development planning, both from Cornell University.
Career
Abdi held several leadership positions in UNICEF including as Country Representative in Pakistan, Ghana and Liberia, Regional Director in the Middle-East and North Africa, Comptroller and CFO, and Deputy Executive Director for Management, and Field Results.
Since 2016, following an appointment by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Abdi has been serving as the Deputy Executive Director for programmes at UNICEF; he succeeded Geeta Rao Gupta. In this capacity, he oversees UNICEF's global humanitarian and development programmes. In 2020, he was part of the selection committee that chose José Manuel Barroso as chair of GAVI’s board.
Other activities
- Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Member of the Board of Directors
- Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), Member of the Board
References
- "Secretary-General appoints Omar Abdi of Canada Deputy Executive Director of United Nations Children's Fund". un.org. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- "Omar Abdi Deputy Executive Director" (PDF). un.org. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- Secretary-General Appoints Omar Abdi of Canada Deputy Executive Director (Programmes), United Nations Children’s Fund United Nations, press release of 6 June 2016.
- Secretary-General Appoints Omar Abdi of Canada Deputy Executive Director (Programmes), United Nations Children’s Fund United Nations, press release of 6 June 2016.
- Roedy, Bill (December 2019). "Governance Committee Chair Report" (PDF). Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- "Report of the meeting of the Board of Directors" (PDF). Global Partnership for Education. December 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- Board Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH).