Our Board
We are governed by a small and cohesive Board of Directors who share a commitment to the goals and objectives of the UN Charter and the UN’s work on behalf of economic, social, environmental and humanitarian causes.
R. E. Turner (U.S.A.)
Chairman, Turner Enterprises
Ted Turner is the Chairman of Turner Enterprises, Inc. and former Vice Chairman of Time Warner Inc., the world's leading media company. He is the founder of CNN, an environmentalist, and a philanthropist. Turner created the UN Foundation 1998 with his historic gift in support of the United Nations. He has said that his gift is an "investment in the future of humanity."
Timothy E. Wirth (U.S.A.)
President, United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund
Senator Wirth was chosen by Mr. Turner to run the UN Foundation because of his extensive experience and knowledge of international issues, particularly the environment and reproductive health. Senator Wirth spent more than 20 years in the United States Congress, representing Colorado both in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah (Jordan)
Chair, Jordan River Foundation
Her Majesty channels her energies behind initiatives that aim to improve the livelihood various sectors of society in Jordan and beyond. Her activities encompass issues such as education, health, youth, and the environment, among others.
Kofi Annan (Ghana)
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Kofi A. Annan of Ghana, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, served from 1997 to 2006 and was the first to emerge from the ranks of United Nations staff. One of Mr. Annan's main priorities as Secretary-General was a comprehensive program of reform aimed at revitalizing the United Nations and making the international system more effective.
Gro Harlem Brundtland (Norway)
Director-General Emeritus, World Health Organization
A medical doctor and Master of Public Health (MPH), Gro Harlem Brundtland spent 10 years as a physician and scientist in the Norwegian public health system. For more than 20 years she was in public office, 10 of them as Prime Minister. In the 1980s she gained international recognition, championing the principle of sustainable development as the chair of the World Commission of Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission).
Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil)
President, Instituto Fernando Henrique Cardoso
A longtime professor of sociology, Fernando Henrique Cardoso is currently president of the Instituto Fernando Henrique Cardoso in São Paulo and honorary president of the Party of the Brazilian Social Democracy (PSDB). His academic life and political engagement focused on the core causes of promoting democracy and breaking the chains of dependence that hinder economic and social development.
Yuan Ming (China)
Director, Institute of International Relations, Peking University,
Professor Yuan Ming was originally trained as a student of western language and literature at Peking University. Since 1995, she was conducted research at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia; the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. She is a frequent travler and speaker at many international gatherings such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Trilateral Commission and the Club of Rome.
N. R. Narayana Murthy (India)
Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited
N.R. Narayana Murthy is the Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited. Before assuming his current position, he served as CEO of Infosys for twenty years. Mr. Murthy is the chairman of the governing body of both the Indian Institute of Information Technology and the Indian Institute of Management. He has led the corporate governance initiatives in India. He serves on numerous boards of organizations in the U.S. and in several Asian nations.
Hisashi Owada (Japan)
Judge, International Court of Justice
In addition to his position at the International Court of Justice, Hisashi Owada is also an advisor to the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Senior Advisor to the President of the World Bank. Mr. Owada has served in various posts in the foreign service of Japan, spending a large part of his career on legal as well as United Nations affairs, on the United States, and on the Soviet Union.
Emma Rothschild (U.K.)
Director of the Centre for History and Economics at King's College, University of Cambridge and Harvard University, and Professor of History at Harvard University
In addition to her positions at Harvard and King’s College, she has been a member of the United Kingdom government's Council for Science and Technology, and of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. From 1999 to 2005 she was chairman of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.
Nafis Sadik (Pakistan)
Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General
In 1987, Dr. Sadik was appointed Executive Director of UNFPA, with the rank of Under-Secretary-General, becoming one of the highest ranking women in the UN system and the first woman, in the history of the United Nations, to lead one of its major voluntarily-funded programmes.
Andrew Young (U.S.A.)
Chairman, Good Works International
Ambassador Andrew Young is an ordained minister, international businessman, human rights activist, published author, and former public servant. He was a top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and was elected to three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia. He has been a U.S. Ambassador to the UN and served two terms as Mayor of Atlanta.
Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh)
Founder, Grameen Bank of Bangladesh
Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Movement and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, is responsible for many innovative programs benefiting the rural poor. He attended Vanderbilt University on a Fulbright Scholarship and received his Ph.D. in Economics in 1969. He taught briefly in the US before returning to Bangladesh, where he joined the Economics Department at Chittagong University.
EMERITUS
Graça Machel (Mozambique)
Chair, Foundation for Community Development
Graça Machel was Mozambique's Minister for Education until 1989 and the chairperson of the National Organization of Children of Mozambique, an organization that places orphans in village homes. She has worked closely with families in her efforts to rehabilitate children, has acted to empower Mozambican women, and has been a major force on behalf of worldwide literacy.
Liang Dan (China)
Director of Investment and Technology Promotion, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
Liang Dan has served since May 2000 as Director, Investment and Technology Promotion Branch of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna. Previously, she was Director-General of the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE) in the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade (MOFTEC). She worked extensively with UNDP and UNIDO both in China and in China’s cooperation with developing countries throughout the UN system.
UN Foundation Good Governance Policies (Download PDF)
