The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has appointed Toril-Iren Pedersen as Director of the UNDP Global Policy Centre for Governance, based in Oslo.

Pedersen brings extensive experience in governance, transparency and public finance to the role. Most recently, she served as head of the Section for Governance at the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). She previously led Norad’s work on Tax and Development.

Prior to joining Norad, Pedersen worked with the United Nations on governance and public management, including support to local governments, expenditure and revenue management, land governance and gender equality in public administration.

“I worked on governance issues in a range of different countries and settings,” said Pedersen in a short introductory interview (see below). “I've seen how concrete actions on even small governance issues can unlock development potential on creating jobs, improving revenues to governments, cohesive societies, and a range of other issues.”