Annan chooses two women for high-level posts in political affairs and human resources

22 September 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed two veteran United Nations female staff members to high-level positions – Angela Kane of Germany as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, to replace Danilo Türk, and Jan Beagle of New Zealand as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, replacing Rosemary McCreery.

Ms. Kane was previously Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management in May 2004, and this past February she led a multi-disciplinary team of investigators from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to investigate misconduct among peacekeepers. Ms. Kane also has served as Mr. Annan's Deputy Special Representative for the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).

Ms. Beagle was previously Director of the Division for Organizational Development. In 2000, she was Vice Chairperson of the Consultative Committee on Administrative Questions (CCAQ), where she was responsible for raising human resources issues regarding women to the highest levels of management.

Mr. Türk, who was Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs from February 2000 to July 2005, has returned to Slovenia where he resumed his career as a professor of international law.

Ms. McCreery will serve as Chief of Staff for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Ann Veneman.