UN Appoints Luke J. Lindberg as Next Head of World Food Programme

Senior U.S. agriculture official to lead the world’s largest humanitarian organization amid a deepening global hunger crisis

NEW YORK — As world leaders prepare to gather for the High-Level Week of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations has appointed senior U.S. agriculture official Luke J. Lindberg as the next Executive Director of the World Food Programme, or WFP.

The Rome-based agency announced the appointment on September 18.
Lindberg was appointed jointly by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Qu Dongyu following consultations with the WFP Executive Board during a special session at the agency’s headquarters in Rome.

Carla Barroso Carneiro, President of the WFP Executive Board and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Brazil, congratulated Lindberg on his appointment.

She emphasized the growing urgency of confronting global hunger and expressed her expectation that Lindberg would work closely with the Executive Board to guide WFP in fulfilling its central mission of saving lives and changing lives.

Succeeding Cindy McCain

Lindberg will succeed Cindy McCain, who served as WFP Executive Director from April 2023 until May 2026, when she stepped down for health reasons.

Carl Skau, WFP’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, has served as Acting Executive Director since June while the organization conducted its search for a new leader.

Lindberg currently serves as Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that role, he oversees efforts involving international agricultural trade, export promotion and access to global markets.
Before joining the USDA in 2025, Lindberg founded and led South Dakota Trade, a public-private partnership dedicated to expanding international markets for the state’s exporters. He served as the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer from November 2022 through August 2025.

Earlier in his career, Lindberg served as Chief of Staff and Chief Strategy Officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States. He also worked at Sanford Health as Director of External Affairs and later as Director of Global Operations for Sanford World Clinic, where he led international health operations across seven countries.

Lindberg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Public Policy and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

An Organization Facing an Unprecedented Hunger Crisis
Lindberg will assume leadership of WFP at a time when global hunger and humanitarian needs are rising rapidly.

According to the agency, as many as 266 million people worldwide are facing acute food insecurity because of armed conflict, extreme weather and economic hardship. WFP currently provides food, nutrition, cash assistance and emergency logistical support to more than 100 million people across 83 countries.

Severe funding shortages, however, have forced the organization to reduce or prioritize assistance, leaving millions of vulnerable people without adequate support.

Hunger emergencies are especially severe in Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, Gaza, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Haiti and Somalia.

Among the most urgent challenges facing Lindberg will be mobilizing additional funding, maintaining emergency food supplies, securing humanitarian access in conflict zones and helping communities become more resilient to climate-related disasters.

The United States has long been WFP’s largest financial contributor. The agency’s top leadership position has also traditionally been held by an American since the early 1990s, and Lindberg’s appointment continues that practice.

The World’s Largest Humanitarian Organization

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization. It delivers emergency food assistance during wars, natural disasters and other crises while supporting school meals, nutrition programs, smallholder farmers and long-term community resilience.

WFP was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger, improve conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and prevent hunger from being used as a weapon of war.
As armed conflicts continue, extreme weather events intensify and international humanitarian funding declines, Lindberg’s ability to stabilize WFP’s finances, expand its reach and respond to worsening food emergencies will be closely watched by governments, humanitarian organizations and vulnerable communities around the world.

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