Izumi Nakamitsu (中満 泉 Nakamitsu Izumi; born 1963) is a United Nations Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs from March 29, 2017, appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. She succeeded Kim Won-soo of the Republic of Korea. Prior to this, she served as the Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator, and Crisis Response Unit leader of the United Nations Development Programme.[1]

Nakamitsu Izumi
中満 泉
Izumi Nakamitsu
United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
Assumed office
29 March 2017
Appointed byAntónio Guterres
Preceded byKim Won-soo
United Nations Assistant Secretary-General
In office
June 2014 – June 2018
Appointed byBan Ki-moon
Succeeded byAsako Okai
United Nations Development Programme Assistant Administrator of the Crisis Response Unit
In office
June 2014 – June 2018
Appointed byBan Ki-moon
Succeeded byAsako Okai
Personal details
Born1963[1]
Tokyo, Japan
SpouseMagnus Lennartsson[2]
Alma materWaseda University (LLB)
Georgetown University (MS)

Nakamitsu began her career with the United Nations in 2008, and during that time has held several high-level positions with the Organization. From 2016 to 2017, she was the Special Adviser Ad Interim on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. Previous to this, she held the position of Director in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Nakamitsu is married to Magnus Lennartsson,[2] a Swedish diplomat serving as Deputy Permanent Representative for the Swedish Mission to the United Nation in New York, and former Deputy chief of mission for the Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo. They have 2 daughters.[3]

Education

edit

Nakamitsu holds a Bachelor of Laws from Waseda University and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.[4]

Career

edit

Nakamitsu, a Japanese national, has had a distinguished career and has held positions both within and outside the United Nations.

In addition to her role as Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also appointed her as Special Adviser ad interim on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants in 2016; in this capacity, Nakamitsu succeeded Karen AbuZayd.[6]

In March 2017, Nakamitsu was appointed as the next Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Office for Disarmament Affairs.[1]

Other activities

edit

Nakamitsu is a member of the International Gender Champions (IGC) network, which advocates for gender equality, including in international organizations.[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Secretary-General Appoints Izumi Nakamitsu of Japan High Representative for Disarmament Affairs". United Nations. March 29, 2017. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Embassy Staff". Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
  3. ^ "Bio Ambassador Magnus Lennartsson". Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations. January 21, 2021. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  4. ^ "Lecture by Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, Assistant Secretary-General of UN, Assistant Administrator and Crisis Response Unit leader of UNDP". Waseda University. 29 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Izumi Nakamitsu Leader, Crisis Response Unit". UNDP. Archived from the original on 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  6. ^ Secretary-General Appoints Izumi Nakamitsu of Japan Special Adviser Ad Interim on Follow-up to Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees, Migrants United Nations, press release of November 1, 2016.
  7. ^ "Izumi Nakamitsu | International Gender Champions". genderchampions.com. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
edit