UN Appoints New Resident Coordinator in China

UN Appoints New Resident Coordinator in China
António Guterres Names Stephen Jackson

【Times Square Global Live (TSGL) | New York】

【Times Square Global Live (TSGL) | New York】

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Stephen Jackson of Ireland as the new United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, following approval by the host Government. He assumed his functions on April 1.

Senior UN Representative in China

The UN Resident Coordinator is the highest-ranking representative of the United Nations development system at the country level. The role includes:

Leading the UN Country Team

Coordinating UN agencies, funds, and programmes
Aligning UN support with national development priorities
Advancing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Strengthening partnerships with government and stakeholders

Extensive Experience in Development and Peacebuilding

According to the UN announcement, Stephen Jackson brings over 30 years of experience in:

International development
Peacebuilding
Humanitarian affairs

Prior to this appointment, he served as:

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya
United Nations Resident Coordinator in Gabon

In these roles, he led system-wide UN support to national development agendas and coordinated strategic planning and implementation.

Background in Political Affairs and Peace Operations

Jackson has held several senior positions within the UN system, including:

Director of Policy Planning and Guidance
Head of the Secretariat for the 2015 Peacebuilding Review
Leadership roles in mediation support

He also served as:

Chief of Office in the United Nations Office in Burundi
Special Adviser to the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region
Senior Political Adviser in the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Academic and Early Career Background

Before joining the United Nations, Jackson worked in academia and humanitarian sectors, including:

Deputy Director at the Social Science Research Council (Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum)
Director of the International Famine Centre at University College Cork

Lecturer in Sociology

Earlier in his career, he worked in humanitarian and development contexts in Angola, Rwanda, and Somalia.

Education

He holds:

A PhD in Cultural Anthropology and a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University
A Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Trinity College Dublin

About TSGL

Times Square Global Live (TSGL) is an international media platform based in New York, dedicated to covering United Nations affairs, global governance, sustainable development, and international cooperation. Through multilingual reporting and a global perspective, TSGL aims to provide accurate, responsible, and public-interest journalism to a worldwide audience.