Mr. Magdy Martinez-Soliman has been appointed as Resident Representative of UNDP in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, and will be based in Barbados where he arrives on 1st June 2019. Mr. Martinez-Soliman has a solid track record of accomplishments and vast experience in development. Until recently and for the past years, Mr. Martinez-Soliman was Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Policy Chief of UNDP. Prior to that, he has held different positions at the UN and UNDP Headquarters in New York, served as UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (2018); was appointed UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Mexico (2007-2012) by SG Ban Ki-moon; was named the first Executive Director of the United Nations Democracy Fund (2006-2007) by SG Kofi Annan; and served as senior UN Official in Senegal and Bangladesh.

Before joining the UN, Mr. Martinez-Soliman was elected City Councillor of his hometown in Spain, Malaga; lectured at the Department of International Law and International Relations of the Faculty of Law, in Malaga University. He was appointed Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Presidency and Spokesperson of the Government of his region, Andalusia, in Parliament, and Secretary of State for Youth, in his national Government under Prime Minister Mr. Felipe Gonzalez. A jurist by training and a former barrister-at-law, he has been a Member of the Spanish Bar since 1985.

Mr. Martinez-Soliman holds a degree in Law (Juris Doctor) from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid and the Universidad of Malaga. Born in 1961, he is married and has one daughter. UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean extends a warm welcome to Mr. Martinez-Soliman and looks forward to his leadership and work with governments to advance Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean’s national development.