SG/A/887
BIO/3593
PI/1606
18 August 2004
Biographical Note
Secretary-General Appoints Shalini Dewan as Director of United Nations Information Centre in New Delhi
NEW YORK, 17 August (UN Headquarters) -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Shalini Dewan as the Director of the United Nations Information Centre in New Delhi. Ms. Dewan, who took up her duties on 16 August, succeeds Feodor Starcevic, who has retired from the service of the Organization.
Ms. Dewan, a national of the United States, was formerly Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Rome, until December 2003. Subsequently, she was assigned to Brussels where she assisted in the establishment of the new Regional United Nations Information Centre for Western Europe.
Ms. Dewan has more than 30 years of experience in the field of information, including 26 years in the United Nations system. From 1998 to 2001, as Chief of Publishing and Multimedia with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, she was responsible for the conceptualization and editorial management of a wide range of print and electronic products and spearheaded a project on the development of a corporate visual identity for the organization.
From 1992 to 1998, Ms. Dewan was Chief of Editorial and Publications with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in New York and also served as UNICEF’s Media Spokesperson at several major international conferences, including the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995) and the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995).
Ms. Dewan began her career with the United Nations in 1978 as an Information Officer in the Department of Public Information in New York. In 1986, she moved to the United Nations Information Service in Vienna, where she was responsible for all media and communication activities and managed the press coverage of numerous United Nations meetings worldwide. While based in Vienna, Ms. Dewan undertook a seven-month mission assignment as Deputy Regional Director with the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) in Namibia in 1989.
Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Dewan worked as a journalist for The Hindustan Times, a leading newspaper in India, and as an editor at a major publishing house, also in India. In 1981, she served as New York correspondent for the Inter Press Service.
Ms. Dewan holds a master’s degree in Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature (honours), French and psychology, from Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. Born in India, Ms. Dewan became a citizen of the United States in 1983.
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