Iran

Our team

 

Who are the decision makers?

The UN Resident Coordinator and designated representative of the UN Secretary-General is also the leader of the United Nations Country Team playing a central role in coordinating the UN operational activities for development.

The UNDP Resident Representative is the UNDP Administrator's representative at the country level, and head of the country office being ultimately responsible for the quality and sustainability of UNDP interventions.

Photograph of a man in a suit at a desk in an office, with a world map on the wall.
Levan Bouadze

Mr. Levan Bouadze assumed his role as UNDP Resident Representative in the Islamic Republic of Iran on 1 August 2026. Prior to this, he headed the Strategic Planning and Oversight Unit at the United Nations Development Programme’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific in New York. In that role, he led corporate strategic planning and oversight of regional planning processes, analyzed regional developments and trends, and monitored performance against established indicators and targets.

Mr. Bouadze is a senior development professional with nearly three decades of leadership, management, and advisory experience across the United Nations system. His career spans headquarters, regional, and country office roles, where he has supported complex development portfolios and organizational transformation in politically sensitive and diverse contexts. He brings deep knowledge of the global development agenda and the operational architecture of the international development system, with extensive hands-on experience across low-, middle-, and upper-middle-income countries.

Previously, Mr. Bouadze served as Resident Representative of UNDP’s Pacific Multi-Country Office, based in Suva, Fiji, overseeing operations across ten Pacific Island countries. During this assignment, he expanded UNDP’s programme in climate change, environment, resilience, and governance through strengthened partnerships with national governments and development partners.

In different times Mr. Bouadze served as Deputy Resident Representative in Belarus and Resident Representative ad interim in Iran and Uzbekistan, leading UNDP teams through periods of institutional transition. He has also held several senior headquarters positions, including roles in the Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia and the Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy. In these roles, he provided strategic advice to senior management, led corporate change processes, managed financial sustainability exercises, and contributed to the development of UNDP institutional policies and resource-allocation models.

Mr. Bouadze holds a Master of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Oxford and a Master of Social Sciences from the University of Birmingham. He is fluent in several UN working languages and has professional experience across Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. His career reflects a sustained commitment to effective multilateralism, partnership-building, and the delivery of development results in complex environments.
Khurshid Alam

Mr. Khurshid Alam assumed his role as Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Iran in September 2025. Prior to this, he served as Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Bhutan, where he supported the expansion of UNDP’s programme in economic transformation, renewable energy, digital development, urban resilience, innovation and private-sector financing. During this assignment, he developed a US$64 million programme pipeline, including Bhutan’s first private-sector-led energy market initiative. He also advised on the establishment of the carbon-negative Group Zero initiative in support of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Bhutan Innovation Lab.

Mr. Alam is a senior international development professional with more than 25 years of leadership, management and advisory experience across more than 40 countries. His career spans climate change, disaster risk management, economic transformation, governance and crisis recovery, with extensive experience supporting governments and development partners in advancing resilient and inclusive development. He brings a strong understanding of the international development system and has led complex development programmes in diverse country and regional contexts.

Previously, as Assistant Resident Representative of UNDP in Bangladesh, Mr. Alam managed the country office’s largest programme portfolio. His work covered climate change, disaster management, urban development, energy, environment, gender and social protection. He led UNDP’s support for the transformation of Bangladesh’s disaster management system, advanced pro-poor urban development across 20 cities, supported the development of universal social protection, and contributed to integrating climate resilience into public finance, national planning and locally led adaptation in coastal areas.

Before joining UNDP, Mr. Alam directed the Indian Ocean Tsunami Recovery Programme across six countries and served as a Policy Advisor with ActionAid International, based in the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He subsequently led an international consulting firm. Throughout his career, he has worked in the context of major international disasters and refugee crises and advised the governments of Malawi, Mozambique and Cambodia on the formulation of climate change and disaster risk management strategies.

Mr. Alam brings extensive expertise in innovation, systems thinking and locally grounded development solutions, with a particular focus on integrating resilience into development planning and strengthening institutional capacities to anticipate and manage risks. He is a frequent keynote speaker, has co-authored books and published work on climate resilience, disasters and development, contributing to international policy discussions and development practice. His career reflects a sustained commitment to advancing inclusive development, strengthening partnerships and building long-term resilience in complex and changing environments.