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UN World Food Programme welcomes Cindy McCain as new head
Rome, 02 March 2023 - H.E. Artur Andrzej Pollok, President of the Executive Board of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), has welcomed the appointment of Cindy Hensley McCain of the United States of America as the next Executive Director of WFP.
The appointment was made by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations QU Dongyu, after consultations with the WFP Board at a special session at WFP’s Rome headquarters.
Ambassador Joachim Bleicker stated on this occasion:
I would like to take the opportunity to warmly congratulate Mrs. Cindy McCain, on this position. She assumes office at a crucial time when WFP has to deal with unprecedented humanitarian needs worldwide. Let me assure you that Germany will remain a highly committed partner for fighting global hunger and malnutrition and will continue to support WFP. We look forward to continuing and deepening our close cooperation and constructive dialogue with her and WFP.
Cindy McCain presently serves as the United States Permanent Representative to the UN Agencies in Rome (the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme).
She is the former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University.
She served on the Board of Directors of Project C.U.R.E., CARE, Operation Smile, the Halo Trust and the advisory boards of Too Small To Fail and Warriors and Quiet Waters.
McCain holds an undergraduate degree in Education and a Master’s in Special Education from the University of Southern California.
She is the wife of the late U.S. Senator John McCain.
McCain will succeed David Beasley as Executive Director, who will have served six years when his term ends on April 4.
Background Information
The increasing number of conflicts, climate shocks and economic turmoil have led to a sharp rise in the number of acutely food-insecure people struggling to get enough food to feed their families – up almost 200 million since before the coronavirus pandemic.
WFP provided more than 158 million people with food, cash and vouchers in 2022, more than in any previous year, and received a record US$14 billion in funding.
In 2022, Germany was the second largest donor with 1.7 billion euros.
(source: WFP press release)