Welcome to the United Nations
Juwang Zhu
Mr. Juwang Zhu is currently Director of the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government in UN DESA. In that capacity he leads a team in normative, analytical and capacity-building work in promoting inclusive, effective, accountable institutions that are well equipped to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 16. This is the second time Mr. Zhu coordinated the work of the Division - he served as its Director in 2014-2015. Mr. Zhu is also currently the Acting Director of the Division for Sustainable Development Goals in UN DESA.
Among his various assignments at the UN Secretariat, Mr. Zhu served as Chief of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General/DESA (2008-2013). In that capacity he advised the Under-Secretary-General on a range of policy and management issues. During this period, Mr. Zhu also coordinated the Department’s substantive advice to the Executive Office of the Secretary-General on development issues and on the restructuring of DESA’s capacity building programme.
Mr. Zhu was Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), and in that capacity assisted in coordinating support for the Conference. He also contributed to the departmental support for Rio+20 follow-up, including work on the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs (2013-2014). As Director of the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (Jan 2016- February 2019), Mr. Zhu coordinated the Secretariat support for the High-level Political Forum, the UN Ocean Conference, and the Global Sustainable Transport Conference.
Prior to his reassignment to DESA in 1993, Mr. Zhu had previously worked as a policy analyst in the secretariat of the UN World Food Council and in the UN Office in Geneva. He joined the UN Secretariat in 1985. Born in Shanghai, August 1961, Mr. Zhu graduated from the Shanghai International Studies University in 1982 and did post-graduate studies in Beijing Foreign Studies University. He has an MSC in financial economics from University of London and an MA in international relations from Webster University.