First Woman Deputy at UN… But Only Some Rejoice

by Britgirl on January 6, 2007

Seems to be Women’s Week with another first and another story that I thought worth highlighting.

First woman deputy follows heavy pressure from African states

Now this is what I call a rather more balanced write-up of a recent woman appointee, even though the appointment itself isn’t met by jubilation from all. This is because this appointee comes from the previous UN cabinet that had more than a few failings and most were hoping for a new broom.

“Sources said that Ban Ki Moon, the new UN chief, met her when he visited Tanzania, then on the 15-nation UN Security Council, during his campaign for the top UN job last year. She will be responsible for managing the unwieldy UN bureaucracy that has been plagued by corruption and sexual abuse scandals in recent years.

Mr Ban, a former South Korean Foreign Minister who began his five-year term at the United Nations this week, has promised “bold steps” to reform the organisation but his early appointments have disappointed UN staff.

They had called on him to bring about a “fundamental change in the mindset of senior management . . . from a relationship based on dominance, disregard and fear to a real partnership.” Instead, Mr Ban named two insiders from the scandal-scarred administration of Kofi Annan, his predecessor, to key internal posts.”

Doesn’t augur well, does it? But I like the bio,myself. Not a word about fluffy hair,make up or high heels at least in this report. No brood of children in her wake. All about her achievements and just one bullet point about her family status. That’s more like it. Maybe that’s why it didn’t make the wider networks. No sexy angle to be had here:

First lady

  • Asha-Rose Migiro has been Tanzanian Foreign Minister since January 2006
  • She spent five years as the Minister for Community Development, Women’s and Children’s Affairs
  • Her background is in law; she gained a PhD from the University of Konstanz in Germany in 1992
  • In 1990 she wrote a paper on Tanzanian politics, entitled The Dynamics of Election Organization in a One-Party Democracy
  • She was born in 1956, is married and has two childrenSource: Danish and Tanzanian governments
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