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OUR Leadership and Structure Overview
Prior to this role as Resident Representative, Ms. Thompson served as Co-Director of Governance, Rule of Law & Peacebuilding at the UNDP Headquarters in New York, where she led a global team focused on policy and positioning across a range of development priorities. These included institutional reform, access to justice, security sector reform, local governance, public sector reform, rule of law and human rights, and social cohesion. She collaborated closely with the United Nations (UN) system, UN Member States, development partners, private sector, global coalitions, and think-tanks to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Ms. Thompson has held senior positions in UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support and the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery. With over 25 years of international experience, she has worked for the UNDP, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
She has supported strategic planning and programming in UNDP Country Offices, UN Missions, and UN Country Teams in more than 100 countries. She is recognized for scaling global and country programmes, building development partnerships, and investing in innovation to strengthen development frontiers.
Before joining the UN system, Ms. Thompson practiced law in England and Wales. She is a published expert and has worked in academia and civil society as a researcher and advocate for gender equality.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cambridge University (UK), a Master of Laws degree from Essex University (UK), and postgraduate diplomas in Law and Legal Practice from the College of Law (London). She is married and the proud mother of two. In her personal time, she enjoys nature, hiking, art, music, theatre, food, and world travel with family and friends.
You can find her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter (@KatyThompson / @KathyThompsonROL).
Berdi Beridyev brings 19 years of experience within the UN system, including 15 years with UNDP in the SIDS, LDC, UMIC, fragile and post-conflict country contexts.
He started his professional journey as a Political Affairs officer/International UN Volunteer in the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo (SCR1244) and as UN coordination consultant in Timor-Leste before joining UNDP as Policy Specialist in New York through the LEAD Programme.
He served at global, regional and country office levels overseeing programme and operations, policy development, project implementation and oversight, partnerships, people and change management.
Most recently, Mr Berdiyev served as Country Manager/Deputy Resident Representative (P/O), head of the UN Local Team and the UN Area Security Coordinator in the Solomon Islands (MCO Pacific Region) where he built a robust portfolio on Effective Governance, Climate Action, Energy Transition and Digital Transformation and positioned UNDP as a strategic development partner in the context of country’s LDC graduation and COVID crisis response.
Previously, Mr Berdiyev worked in the Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia in New York (RBEC), where he oversaw programmatic and management support to UNDP’s operations in Turkey, Cyprus and the Western Balkans. He also served as Assistant Country Director (Programme) in Ukraine, and the Deputy Resident Representative ad interim in Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Mr Berdiyev holds an MPhil in Development Studies (Cambridge University, UK) and an LLM in International Comparative Law (European University Institute, Florence, Italy).