United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Gwyn Lewis of Ireland as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, with the host government’s approval.

With more than 20 years of experience in international development, peacebuilding, and humanitarian affairs, Lewis previously served as Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Affairs in the West Bank, and Deputy Director of Programmes for UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon.

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Lewis, who is fluent in English and French, also managed the Global Clusters Coordination section in the Emergency Division of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Geneva, according to the UN. 

She joined the agency from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where she focused on humanitarian policy and supporting FAO country offices.

Lewis also served in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, building partnerships between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, and supporting the rollout of the humanitarian reform agenda.

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She has also worked for both the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and various non-governmental organizations in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Albania.

The holder of a master’s degree in international relations and European studies from the University of Kent, Canterbury, in the United Kingdom, Lewis also has a bachelor’s degree in economics from San Francisco State University in the United States.