Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka from South Africa has been appointed as the new Executive Director of UN Women by UN Secretary-General Ban in New York on 10 July.
Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, a strong community and political leader, was the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa from 2005 to 2008. She was the first woman to hold this position.
UN Women began operating on 1 January 2011, with the mandate to accelerate the global promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Australia is a strong supporter of UN Women and has been on the UN Women Executive Board since January 2013.
UN Women has played a leadership role in strengthening international norms and standards on gender equality, including ending violence against women, enhancing political participation and leadership, and increasing access to economic empowerment opportunities.
In its first years UN Women has provided policy and program guidance to advance gender equality globally including through providing support in 71 countries to enhance legal frameworks and national capacities to increase women's political leadership and participation.
UN Women also supported 85 countries to prevent violence against women, to end impunity for these crimes, and to expand essential services to survivors.
UN Women has made significant achievements in its first two years. Australia will continue its support of UN Women and with the appointment of the new Executive Director, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, will continue to build on previous successes in the years ahead.