Leadership & Executive Committee

As it is outlined in our Constitution, the World Federation of United Nations Associations has the following leadership structure:

The Plenary Assembly is the supreme organ of WFUNA. It consists of delegations appointed by member UNAs and meets at least once every three years. The responsibilities of the Plenary Assembly are detailed in Article 8 of the Constitution.The Plenary Assembly elects the President, Vice-Presidents (6), Secretary-General, Treasurer and Executive Committee (18 members). The Executive Committee elects its own Chair and Vice Chairs (2). The Plenary Assembly may confer the title of Honorary President upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee.

President

Leonel Fernández

Leonel Fernández

Leonel Fernández is a renowned Dominican politician, lawyer, professor and writer who has played a prominent role in the promotion of political and ideological matters, both at the national and the international level.

Secretary-General

Bonian Golmohammadi

Bonian Golmohammadi

Bonian Golmohammadi was elected Secretary-General of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) in August 2009. Since then, WFUNA has substantially grown in its programmatic activities, organizational structure - including the establishment of new offices in Seoul, Korea, Brussels, Belgium and New Delhi, India - and partnerships.

Treasurer

Bhutoria_pic

Sundeep Bhutoria

Sundeep Bhutoria, a Rajasthan-born-Kolkata-based social and cultural activist whose name is synonymous with social welfare activities and promotion of Indian folk art, literature and culture. He is an outspoken community conscience and a youth icon representing India in United Nations Associations and various other fora and non-governmental organisations.

Chair of the Executive Committee

Anne

Anne Cathrine da Silva

Anne Cathrine Uteng da Silva holds a Graduated Master of Art (combination of media, sociology, pedagogy and development studies). She has fifteen years of leadership, also within international experience from development and humanitarian aid.

Vice-Chair

Ramaz

Ramaz Aptsiauri

Ramaz Aptsiauri is a cofounder of UNA Georgia. He holds the Master’s Degree in International Relations from the Tbilisi State University, Georgia.

baguma

Richard Baguma

Broadcaster with a passion for peace and development, Richard Baguma has been a member of WFUNA Task Force on WSIS. Regional Coordinator for the UN DPI/NGO Exec Committee. Founder, board member UNA Uganda. Was chief host for the WFUNA Regional Academy for Africa bringing African UNAs and other UNAs to Uganda. Holds an MSC in Project Planning and Management and a BA Journalism and Mass Communication. A husband and father.

Finance Committee Chair

helena

Helena Laukko

Helena Laukko is the Executive Director of the UN Association of Finland. She has fifteen years of experience in development cooperation work, including fieldwork in Uganda, and served as Executive Director of the International Solidarity Foundation.

Vice-President

Alexei Borisov

Alexei Borisov

Alexei Borisov served as the first Deputy Chairman of the Russian United Nations Association.

Armine

Armine Podosyan

Armine Podosyan has been serving as the President of the United Nations Association of Armenia (AUNA) since 2008 and was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) at the 40th WFUNA Plenary Assembly. She started with AUNA as co-founder from the very establishment of the organization in 2005.

Dambar Bir Thapa

Christos Theodoulou

kathryn

Kathryn White

Kate has successfully led UNA-Canada since 2004, meeting its important national mandate to education and engage Canadians in the work of the UN and to grow global citizens, with twenty-five staff, twenty volunteer Branches and 25 000 members and donors across the country. UNA-Canada is a results-based, disciplined and historic civil society institution that has grown significantly under her watch.

Numbe

Cissa Wa Numbe

Cissa Wa Numbe has been as adviser to the the UN Secretary General's special representative to UN-Africa Union led International Conference for Peace, Security and Development for the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Executive Committee Member

banks

Teta Banks

The Honorable Teta V. Banks serves as National Chair of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA). She is the first person of African descent to hold this position in UNA-USA’s 75-year history. Ms. Banks leads the organization’s 20,000 members and 200 chapters in connecting American communities to the mission and work of the United Nations and advocating for US funding for UN agencies.

Ray

Ray Brathwaite

Ray Brathwaite is the current President of UNATT and the former President of JCI Senators of the Americas and Caribbean. He was also formerly the Deputy Chairman of Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority.

Fischer Chiyanike

Dan

Zhang Dan

Ms. Zhang Dan is Vice-President and Director-General of the United Nations Association of China. Joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in 1990 where she worked as third secretary, second secretary and director of APEC division of the Department of International Organizations of the Foreign Ministry. From 1997 - 2000, she worked in the Commissioner’s Office of the Foreign Ministry of China in Hong Kong SAR.

Joy

Joy Dunsheath

Joy Dunsheath JP is a past National President of UNA NZ. Her working career has been in education as a teacher of English literature and as a cultural and arts Director. Her interests are: human rights, justice, education, and gender equality. She is a Justice of the Peace.

ervin

Ervin Gombos

Prof. Emer. Dr. Ervin GÖMBÖS has been the Secretary-General of the UNA of Hungary since 1981. (Not a paid job.) In this capacity he has been also the editor of the UNA’s publications (more than 40 books and major UN documents in Hungarian.) During his long term the UNA and its activities have grown tremendously and become a nationwide network. He had various positions in WFUNA (Vice-President 1983-87, 1991-95, 2009-2015, member of the...

Emil Chireno Hache

jethwa

Jay Jethwa

Jay Jethwa is a scientist as well as a corporate lawyer by training. He is admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and High Court of Australia. He holds directorships in a number of healthcare and biotechnology-related companies in Australia as well as internationally and currently spends his time between business communities in Australia, the United Kingdom and India.

Torllief

Torleif Jonasson

Mr. Torleif Jonasson has been a member of the Danish UNA since 1991 and has been involved in all areas of work.

Ali

Ali Kiyaei

Ali Kiyaei serves as an Executive Secretary General of the United Nations Association of South Africa since 2011 and is on the board of two business start-ups. He joined the UNA about 5 years ago through a university chapter. Through UNASA he advocates the role of societies taking responsibility of their own communities through the ideas of the UN Millennium Development Goals.

hojin

Ambassador Ho-Jin Lee

Ambassador Ho-Jin Lee has served the Republic of Korea as a career diplomat over three decades since 1974. His diplomatic service covered the US, Europe and East Asia, mainly specializing in the ROK-US alliance, regional security and economic cooperation in East Asia, global disarmament and export control, and nuclear enterprise.

kenneth

Kenneth Luis

Datuk Kenneth Luis was appointed the Executive Secretary of the United Nation Association Malaysia (UNAM) in February 2015. He retired from the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service in July 2010, having contributed 34 years as a civil servant in the public sector. His last posting was as the Malaysian Ambassador to UNESCO, in Paris, France, where he served for three years and a half, until his retirement in July 2010.

reginald

Reginald Munisi

Reginald Munisi has served as both Chairperson and Secretary-General of UNA-Tanzania. He was also an active member of the WFUNA Youth Network, contributing to several initiatives, during his time. Nationally, he was actively involved in the formulation of the national Millennium Development Goals’ implementation strategy, and continues to be actively engaged in national, regional and international processes on the Sustainable Development...

Fermín Quiñones Sánchez

Honorary Presidents

Hans Blix

park

Park Soo-Gil

Ambassador Park Soo-gil, prior to his election as President of WFUNA at the 39th Plenary Assembly in August 2009, served as the Republic of Korea’s Ambassador in the Kingdom of Morocco, Canada, to the European Office of the United Nations in Geneva and the UN in New York, from 1984 to 1998.

HASSON

Rena Sashua Hasson

Rena Shashua Hasson, Attorney at law, Member of the Israel Bar Association, was conferred the title of Honorary President at the 41st Plenary Assembly in Vancouver.

Klaus Hufner

Klaus Hüfner

Rhyl Jansen

Gregory M. Kovrizhenko

modi

Bhupendra Kumar Modi

Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Modi, PhD is a social entrepreneur, philanthropist, and investor. He was the CEO of Modi Telstra, the first company to launch cellular services in India. Dr. Modi is the Founder and Chairman of the Smart Group which has piloted several social and philanthropic initiatives. At the Millennium World Peace Summit in 2000, Dr. Modi was appointed by the United Nations as Coordinator for the Indian Sub-continent...

Doug Roche

Mihaly Simai

Androula Vassiliou

Past Honorary Presidents

Mogens Hasdorf
Nelson Mandela
Ram Niwas Mirdha, M.P
Hilkka Pietilä
Horace Pereira
Arthur Ross

In Memory of...

Hashim Abdul Halim
Malcolm Harper
Maurice Strong
John C. Whitehead
Axel Wüstenhagen