United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Gwyn Lewis of Ireland as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh in May 2022.
Ms. Lewis brings more than 20 years of experience in international development, peacebuilding, and humanitarian affairs to the position.
Prior to her assignment in Bangladesh, Ms. Lewis served as Director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Affairs in the West Bank from 2019; leading a 4,000 strong team in providing essential services and humanitarian aid to more than 850,000 Palestine
refugees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Before being assigned to Jerusalem, she was the Deputy Director for Programs for UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon. Prior to working with UNRWA, Ms. Lewis worked with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) where she managed the Global Clusters Coordination section in UNICEF’s Emergency Division. She joined UNICEF from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2012, where she focused on humanitarian policy and supporting FAO country offices. Ms. Lewis has worked with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, building UN and NGO partnerships, and supporting the roll out of the humanitarian reform agenda. Ms. Lewis has also worked for both OCHA and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in
the occupied Palestinian territory, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and various NGOs in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Albania.
Fluent in English and French, she holds a master’s degree in International Relations and European Studies from the University of Kent, Canterbury, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Economics from San Francisco State University.
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