Ivana Živković

Ivana Živković is a Croatian Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since September 2022.^[1] She is also the Director-General for Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation of Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia since 2020.^[2]

Ivana Živković
United Nations Assistant Secretary-General
Vice-Chair
Incumbent
Assumed office September 2022
Appointed by	António Guterres
Preceded by	Mirjana Spoljaric Egger
United Nations Development Programme Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS
Incumbent
Assumed office September 2022
Appointed by	António Guterres
Preceded by	Mirjana Spoljaric Egger
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Croatia) Director-General for Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2020
Appointed by	Gordan Grlić Radman
Preceded by	Andreja Metelko-Zgombić
Personal details
Citizenship	Croatian
Education	University of Zagreb

Education

Ivana Živković obtained a Master’s degree in International Economics from the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Zagreb.^[3]

Career

Croatia and European Union

Živković started her career at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, held a number of positions and had a leading role in drafting and developing the framework for international development cooperation in Croatia.^[4] During Croatia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, she led the coordination of the trade and development portfolios. She also represented Croatia in various international fora, such as the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and Social Council, the OECD Development Assistance Committee, and the EU Foreign Affairs Council.^[4]

She served as the Director-General for Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia since 2020.^[4]

United Nations

Živković has been working for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2022. She is the Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC). As the head of RBEC, she oversees UNDP’s work in 18 countries and territories in Europe and Central Asia, supporting them to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also leads UNDP’s engagement with regional organizations, such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.^[4]

Notable activities

February 2023, Dmytro Kuleba(right) had a meeting with UN Assistant Secretary-General Ivana Živković(left)

Živković visited Ukraine in January 2023 to meet with government officials and national partners and to reaffirm existing UNDP commitments to support the country’s efforts to tackle the full spectrum of impacts from the war.^[5][6][7]

She co-chaired the first Regional Dialogue on Green Recovery in Europe and Central Asia, which was held on April 14, 2023, bringing together representatives from governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, and international organizations to exchange best practices and identify opportunities for green recovery from COVID-19.^[8][9]

In June 2023, Živković attended Astana International Forum, where she participated as a speaker.^[10] She discussed the UNDP’s priorities and initiatives in promoting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Kazakhstan, especially in the areas of digitalization, gender equality, and green recovery.^[11]

References

1. "Ravnateljica Ivana Živković imenovana pomoćnicom glavnog tajnika UN-a, pomoćnicom administratora UNDP-a i direktoricom Regionalnog ureda za Europu i Zajednicu neovisnih država UNDP-a". Republika Hrvatska Ministarstvo vanjskih i europskih poslova (in Croatian). 2022-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
2. "UNSDG | Ivana Zivkovic". United Nations Sustainable Development Programme. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
3. "Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC) | United Nations Secretary-General". www.un.org. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
4. "Ivana Živković appointed as new Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator and the new Director, Regional Bureau for Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States | United Nations Development Programme". UNDP. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
5. Krepkych, Andrii (2023-01-27). "Ivana Živković, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director for the Regional Bureau for Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States, visited Ukraine to meet with ministers, staff and local authorities". United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
6. "Dmytro Kuleba had a meeting with UN Assistant Secretary-General Ivana Zivkovic". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
7. "Strengthening Ukraine's capacity to enable safe returns to war-affected communities - Ukraine | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
8. "Green Recovery Dialogue Series". World Bank. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
9. wcp_admin (2021-10-05). "European Union steps up cooperation with Central Asia on Climate, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development to ensure green recovery". WECOOP. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
10. Ualikhanova, Aruzhan (2023-06-09). "President Tokayev Praises United Nations' Contribution to Astana International Forum". The Astana Times. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
11. Ualikhanova, Aruzhan (2023-06-22). "UN Assistant Secretary-General Talks Digitalization, Gender Equality". The Astana Times. Retrieved 2023-09-25.