UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday announced the appointment of Rola Dashti of Kuwait as the next executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
She will succeed Mohamed Ali Alhakim of Iraq to whom the secretary-general is grateful for his commitment and dedicated service to the organization, according to a UN statement.
The secretary-general also expressed his appreciation of Mounir Tabet who will continue to serve as acting executive secretary until Dashti assumes her position.
Dashti, a leading Kuwaiti economist and long-time champion of women's rights and gender equality, is currently serving as a member of the Supreme Planning Council in Kuwait.
From 2012 to 2014, she was minister for planning and development and minister of state for parliamentary affairs. She has also held key positions in research and development institutions such as the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and worked for major local and international financial and development institutions such as the National Bank of Kuwait and the World Bank.
