Zia Choudhury of Bangladesh appointed UN Resident Coordinator in Botswana

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Zia Choudhury of Bangladesh as the UN Resident Coordinator in Botswana.

The UN announced the appointment with the host government’s approval on Tuesday.

With 25 years of experience in development and humanitarian work, Choudhury was involved primarily in NGO leadership positions.

He has experiences in agricultural research, humanitarian policy and consulting roles in the UNs system — with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as well.

He began his development career as a national field officer in a disaster‑prone island in the Bay of Bengal and has since worked in coordination and leadership roles across Africa, Asia and Europe.

His most recent postings have been as CARE International country director in Sudan and Bangladesh.

He has a bachelor of arts in geography from the University of London and a master of science in management and implementation of development projects from Manchester University.

“As a Bangladeshi, it will be such an honour and privilege serve as UN Residet Coordinator in Botswana,” Choudhury said, thanking the Bangladesh government, “particularly” the NGO Affairs Bureau and the Prime Minister’s Office, according to a media release from CARE Bangladesh.

His brother Akhlaq Ur-Rahman Choudhury was made Knight Bachelor in 2017 and became the first Briton with Bangladesh origin to have been appointed a justice of the British High Court.

Their sister Ferdousi Choudhuy is working in the UK as a psychologist.

Their parents had migrated to the UK from Zakiganj in Sylhet before independence.