United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed former veteran U.S. diplomat Rosemary DiCarlo as the world body’s new political affairs chief, the first woman to hold the key position, Reuters reported.
DiCarlo will replace another former U.S. diplomat, Jeffrey Feltman, who steps down at the end of March after nearly six years in the key job that helps form U.N. policy and oversees U.N. mediation efforts.
DiCarlo, who speaks French and Russian, was deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2010 to 2014. Most recently she has been president of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.
“Mrs. DiCarlo brings more than 35 years of experience in public service and academia,” the United Nations said in a statement.
She also served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs and Director for United Nations Affairs at the National Security Council in Washington. DiCarlo was also posted to U.S. embassies in Moscow and Oslo.
Guterres praised Feltman, who was appointed by his predecessor Ban Ki-moon in 2012, for his “dedicated, inspirational leadership” and diplomatic skills.
“Mr. Feltman’s tenure coincided with dramatic developments across the international landscape, giving rise to intense demands on the United Nations,” the statement said. “Regardless of the challenge, the Secretary-General knew that he could always turn to Mr. Feltman for sound advice, creative thinking and trenchant analysis.”