Rome, 7 November
2006 – After full consultation with WFP Executive Board
at a special session attended by all its 36 members and most
other member states, the President of the Board, Ambassador
Mirza Qamar Beg of Pakistan, announced that the UN
Secretary-General and FAO Director-General intend to appoint
Josette Sheeran as WFP’s Executive Director, with the
concurrence of the Board.

“Ms Sheeran has outstanding
credentials. WFP’s Member States look forward to working with
her to bring assistance to

“Leading the world’s largest
humanitarian organisation for the past five years has been a
tremendous privilege. I am confident that Josette Sheeran’s
wide experience – especially her most recent role at the US
State Department and on the High Level Panel on UN reform –
will serve the organisation and its beneficiaries well,” said
outgoing Executive Director of WFP, James Morris.

Dedication

“I have great confidence in Ms
Sheeran — her dedication and humanitarian commitment will
help WFP mobilise widespread support and concern for the
millions of people worldwide who suffer from hunger each day,”
he said.

“One of the greatest challenges I
have faced has been to tell the story of hunger to people
everywhere. Ms Sheeran’s knowledge of the news media will be a
tremendous asset to raising the profile of this often
neglected problem,” Morris added.

Sheeran is a citizen of the United
States and has served as Under Secretary of State, Economic,
Business and Agricultural Affairs at the US State Department
since August 2005.

Prior to that, she was Deputy US
Trade Representative. She was also Managing Director of a Wall
Street listed technology company, President and CEO of a
Washington DC think tank and Managing Editor of the Washington
Times newspaper.

Empowering

She succeeds James Morris, who has
led the Programme since April 2002.

Ambassador George McGovern,
credited with helping to found the World Food Programme has
said, “Josette Sheeran has expressed great personal concern
about the global poor and finding innovative programs and
policies to empower them so they can lift themselves out of
poverty.”

WFP is the world’s largest
humanitarian agency. In 2005 it assisted 97 million people,
with total expenditure of US $3.1 billion. Established in 1963
as a joint programme of the United Nations and Food and
Agriculture Organization, it provides food aid to save lives
in emergencies and protect the health and nutrition of women
and children at risk.

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