Who we are & What we do

Biography: Mark Malloch Brown, former UNDP Administrator

Mark Malloch Brown served as the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, the UN's global development network, from July 1999 to August 2005. During that time he was also the Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of the heads of all UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues.

In his tenure at UNDP, Mr. Malloch Brown oversaw a comprehensive reform effort that has been widely recognized as making UNDP more focused, efficient and effective across the 166 countries where it works. His efforts included a major push to expand UN support to developing countries in areas such as democratic governance, a new advocacy dimension as reflected in pioneering publications including the Arab Human Development Reports, and strengthened UNDP operational leadership in natural disasters and post-conflict situations.

At the request of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mr. Malloch Brown also led the UN system’s efforts to help support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals — eight, time-bound development targets with the overarching goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015 — which were agreed to by world leaders at the UN Millennium Summit of September 2000.

Prior to his appointment with UNDP, Mark Malloch Brown served at the World Bank as Vice-President for External Affairs and Vice-President for United Nations Affairs from 1996 to 1999. He joined the World Bank as Director of External Affairs in 1994. He is credited with having helped the Bank enhance its outreach and expand its partnership with the United Nations and non-governmental organizations. In 1997, he chaired the United Nations Secretary-General's task force on the reform of United Nations communications.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Mr. Malloch Brown was the lead international partner from 1986 to 1994 in a strategic communications management firm, the Sawyer-Miller Group, where he worked with corporations and governments. He advised Corazon Aquino of the Philippines when she ran against Ferdinand Marcos as well as other presidential and political candidates, particularly in Latin America.

Mr. Malloch Brown founded the Economist Development Report, a monthly report on the aid community and the political economy for development. He served as the report's editor from 1983 to 1986. Previously, from 1977 to 1979, he had been the political correspondent of The Economist.

From 1979 to 1983, he worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). From 1979 to 1981, he was stationed in Thailand, where he was in charge of field operations for Cambodian refugees. He was appointed Deputy Chief of UNHCR's Emergency Unit in Geneva, undertaking extensive missions in the Horn of Africa and Central America. In 1981, UNHCR and its staff were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Active in human rights and refugee issues, he formerly served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Refugees International in Washington, D.C., and has served on the advisory boards of a number of non-profit organizations.

A British citizen, Mr. Malloch Brown received a First Class Honours Degree in History from Magdalene College, Cambridge University and a Master's Degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan and is the recipient of a number of honorary degrees and awards. Aged 51, he is married with four children.

On 19 January 2005, Secretary-General Kofi Annan also appointed Mr. Malloch Brown as his Chef de Cabinet.