Nardos Bekele-Thomas is currently the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations (UN) and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in South Africa.
Prior to this, she served (2016-2017) as the Senior Director of the Office of the Secretary-General, in charge of the overall management of the Office of the Secretary-General, the Office of the Chef de Cabinet and that of the Deputy Secretary-General. Previously, she was the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Kenya. She also served as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Benin from November 2008 to September 2013.
Ms. Bekele-Thomas is a member of the Group of African Eminent Women, she is a recipient of the prestigious AU/DAF Award of “2015 Woman of Excellence” along with the President of Liberia and former President of Malawi. She was also honored in 2007 as recipient of the Living Legend Achiever’s Award in recognition of her service and leadership role in the promotion of sustainable human development globally, particularly in Africa.
Ms. Bekele-Thomas holds a Master’s Degree. She is the author of several papers and monographs and she is fully bilingual in French and English.
