The Executive Director of the Nairobi-based UN Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), Anna Tibaijuka has been appointed Director General of the UN Office in Nairobi (UNON).

A statement from the UN office in Nairobi said Friday that the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan said Tibaijuka, a Tanzanian would still retain her current position.

Tibaijuka, the highest-ranking African woman in the United Nations system, has been the Executive Director of the UN-Habitat since September 2000.

"As Director-General of the only UN headquarters in a developing country, Tibaijuka will be the senior-most United Nations official in Nairobi and reports directly to the UN Secretary-General," the statement said.

As the Secretary-General's official representative, the Director General serves as a direct link between the UN, the Kenyan government and the extensive diplomatic community in Nairobi, and as the host of a wide variety of diplomatic gatherings and peace-building initiatives that take place in the capital.

In June 2005, Annan appointed Tibaijuka as his Special Envoy to study the scope of the Zimbabwean government's evictions of informal traders and people deemed to be squatting illegally.

The year before, British Prime Minister Tony Blair had invited Tibaijuka, to be a member of the Commission for Africa, which he established to generate ideas and action to accelerate and sustain Africa's growth and development.

The Commission, comprising 16 internationally known figures, completed its report in March 2005, setting out a comprehensive plan for action on governance, conflict, health and education, the economy and international assistance.

Apart from her UN-HABITAT role, Tibaijuka is dedicated to the role and rights of women in development.

Source: Xinhua