Norwegian candidate nominated as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

‘Mr Solhjell has led the reform process of The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), and is exceptionally well qualified to lead UNDP,’ said Minister of International Development Åsmund Aukrust.

UNDP is one of the most wide-ranging UN programmes, with global responsibility for helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and promote peaceful societies and sustainable development. The organisation has a presence in 170 countries, with its headquarters situated in New York.

‘For decades, UNDP has been one of our most important partners in development cooperation. Ours is a strong partnership, and UNDP needs a leader who can both help with restructuring efforts and provide global leadership for sustainable development said Mr Aukrust.

Norway is one of the largest contributors to UNDP and the only OECD country to use more than 1 per cent of GNI on development cooperation – in keeping with the Government’s target.

Increasing the number of Norwegians with key roles in international organisations has been an aim of successive Norwegian governments.

‘UNDP is a very important organisation for Norway. The nomination of a strong Norwegian candidate provides an opportunity to increase the number of Norwegians in leading UN positions. This is important at this time of great change, with deep and wide-ranging UN reforms under way. Moreover, Norway provides a significant amount of funding to the UN, and it is therefore important that Norway is represented in key leadership roles as well,’ said Mr Aukrust.

Mr Solhjell has served as Minister of Education and Research (2007–2009) and Minister of Environment (2012–2013) and was State Secretary to Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. He has been the Director General of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) since 2020.

The UN Secretary-General appoints the Administrator of UNDP, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The deadline for submitting applications is 26 May.