Ms. Cristina Duarte

Mrs. Cristina Duarte is the United Nations Special Adviser on Africa and Under-Secretary- General of OSAA since 1 August 2020. She is the strategic adviser to the Secretary-General on African Affairs, the focal point in UNHQ for relations with the AUDA-NEPAD as well as the African Group with regard to Africa’s development. As the head of OSAA, she supports the Secretary-General in promoting coherence in the UN system’s engagement in Africa and chairs the Inter-Departmental Task Force on African Affairs (IDTFAA), and advocates and mobilizes the United Nations, its Member States and other key stakeholders around Africa’s transformative vision articulated in the 2030 and 2063 Agendas.

Prior to joining the UN, Mrs. Duarte served as Cape Verde’s Minister of Finance and Planning for 10 years. She has also served as Director of a World Bank reform program and Vice President of Citibank giving her a valuable exposure on the functioning of international finance systems. When Mrs. Duarte left Government in 2016, she was invited to governance and advisory positions in various international and regional organizations; namely, Member of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration, Member of the United Nations High-Level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs, a Member of President Paul Kagame’s Advisory Committee on African Union Reforms, a Member of the Board of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and a Member of the Board of the Institute of African Leadership for Sustainable Development (UONGOZI Institute). Mrs. Duarte is committed to public service.