New Resident Coordinator for the United Nations and Resident Representative for UNDP in Sri Lanka Una McCauley presented her credentials to Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera on Wednesday.

As the most senior UN Official in the country, Ms McCauley will lead the UN Country Team of 21 Resident and Non-Resident UN Agencies and act as the representative of the UN Secretary-General in Sri Lanka.

Prior to her appointment, Ms McCauley served as the UNICEF Representative for Sri Lanka for four years. Previously, she was the UNICEF Representative for Panama and Togo, and has worked at the UNICEF offices in Sudan, Kenya, and Angola. With close to 15 years of experience serving within the United Nations System and an additional 7 years of experience working with children in the development sector, Ms McCauley has been instrumental in developing policies and strategic frameworks on leading global issues in a number of countries, a UN media release said.

A national of Ireland and the United Kingdom, Ms McCauley has a Master’s Degree in International Development from the University of London, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science and Science Research from the University of East London.

She is the first female to hold the position of UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Sri Lanka.