Mahmoud Mohieldin Appointed UN Special Envoy

Just yesterday, it was officially announced that Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin was appointed as the Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda in the United Nations. The former Minister of Investment in Egypt (2004-2010), also served as the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda. 

So what exactly is a Special Envoy you ask? Loosely put, a Special Envoy is someone hired specifically by the United Nations Secretary-General as a senior official designated to deal with a particular task or set of issues. In Mohieldin’s case, he will be responsible for overseeing the development agenda for 2030. If, like us, you aren’t entirely sure what a development agenda is, the United Nations describes it as “a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We recognise that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.” 

The former minister is more than qualified to oversee a project of such weight, because being a holder of a Ph.D. of Economics from the University of Warwick and a Masters of Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York is quite literally some of the smaller accomplishments on his long list of professional experience. Dr. Mohieldin oversaw numerous development agendas for the World Bank over many years, where some of his roles included Managing Director and Ececutive Secretary to the Development Committee of the World Bank Group’s Board of Governors, and has also been a professor at Cairo University. The man has left quite a legacy behind for any Egyptian hoping to follow in his footsteps, and has quite undoubtedly made us all proud.