Wu Hongbo
Hongbo in December 2012
United Nations Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
In office
July 2012 – July 2017
Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon
Preceded bySha Zukang
Succeeded byLiu Zhenmin
Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Federal Republic of Germany
In office
2009–2012
PresidentHu Jintao
Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
2006–2009
PresidentHu Jintao
Personal details
BornMay 1952
Shandong, China
Nationality Chinese
Alma materBeijing Foreign Studies University
Victoria University of Wellington
OccupationDiplomat, UN official

Wu Hongbo (吴红波; Wú Hóngbō; born May 1952 in Shandong[1]) is a Chinese diplomat. Until July 2017 he was the Under-Secretary-General in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.[2][3] He replaced Sha Zukang as the head of DESA.[4]

Wu held various high-ranking positions and collected extensive experience in diplomacy. He has worked as Assistant Foreign Minister and Chinese Ambassador to Germany prior to this appointment.[5] He has also worked in a number of locations including Hong Kong, Macao, and Manila.

He graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University and also studied at Victoria University of Wellington.[1]

Controversy about impartiality

In 2018, Wu told a studio audience that while he was an "international civil servant", who by the UN Charter are not allowed to take orders from their own country's government, that rule had exceptions, saying: "When it comes to Chinese national sovereignty and security, we will undoubtedly defend our country’s interests." As an example, he cited an incident where on his behest, Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, was expelled from a United Nations Office where Isa was attempting to speak about the situation of Uyghurs in China.[6][7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General". www.un.org (United Nations). n.d. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "Bio of Under Secretary General". United Nations. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  3. ↑ UNDESA leadership UN website - UNDESA leadership
  4. ↑ China Daily 6 January 2012
  5. ↑ Hanban News 24 January 2011
  6. ↑ Applebaum, Anne (8 October 2020). "How China Outsmarted the Trump Administration". The Atlantic. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  7. ↑ McCaul, Michael (24 September 2019). "The United States Can't Cede the U.N. to China". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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