Omar Abdi | |
---|---|
Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF | |
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). [1] [2]
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. [3]
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. [4] 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. [5]