In accordance with Article IV of the United Nations University Charter, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Director-General Irina Bokova of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have appointed 12 new members to the governing United Nations University Council. The new appointees, who will take office as of 3 May, replace the retiring 2010'2016 cohort of UNU Council members and will serve for terms of either three or six years.

The main functions of the United Nations University Council are to formulate the principles and policies of the University, govern its operations, and consider and approve its biennial budget and work programme. 'Appointed members of the United Nations University Council serve in their individual capacity (not as representatives of their country's Government), and are selected with the aim of achieving a geographic and gender balance, with due regard for major academic, scientific, educational and cultural trends, as well as each member's fields of expertise.

The 12 new members of the United Nations University Council are:'

' ' ' ' 'Prof. Ernest Aryeetey (Ghana), Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana'

' ' ' ' 'Prof. Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz (Brazil), Scientific Director, S'o Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), and Professor, Gleb Wataghin Physics Institute, State University of Campinas'

' ' ' ' 'Prof. Simon Chesterman (Australia), Dean, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore'

' ' ' ' 'Amb. Elizabeth Cousens (USA), Deputy Chief Executive Officer, United Nations Foundation'

' ' ' ' 'Ms. Isabel Guerrero Pulgar (Chile), Director, IMAGO Global Grassroots, and lecturer at Harvard and MIT'

' ' ' ' 'Mag. Dr h.c. Angela Kane (Germany), Senior Fellow, Vienna Centre for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, and Professor, SciencesPo, Paris'

' ' ' ' 'Dr Segenet Kelemu (Ethiopia), Director General and CEO, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology'

' ' ' ' 'Dr Bassma Kodmani (Syria), Executive Director, Arab Reform Initiative'

' ' ' ' 'Dr Radha Kumar (India), Director General, Delhi Policy Group'

' ' ' ' 'Prof. Irena Lipowicz (Poland), Professor, Cardinal Stefan Wyszy'ski University (Warsaw)'

' ' ' ' 'Prof. Tsuneo Nishida (Japan), Director, Institute for Peace Science, Hiroshima University, and Director, Toho Zinc Co., Ltd.'

' ' ' ' 'Prof. Lan Xue (China), Dean, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, and Director, China Institute for Samp;T Policy

Appointed members of the UNU Council serve in an individual capacity ' not as representatives of their country's government. They are selected with an eye to achieving a geographic and gender'balance, with due regard to major academic, scientific, educational, and cultural trends as well as each member's field(s) of expertise.

The UNU Council comprises 16 members: the 12 appointed members, the UNU Rector, and three ex officio members: the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Director-General of UNESCO, and the Executive Director of UNITAR.

The next (65th) session of the Council will convene in Vienna on 3'4 May 2016. For profiles of current (and former) Council members, see unu.edu/about/unu-council.

Journalists who would like more information about the UNU Council or wish to request an

interview with any of the new UNU Council members may contact UNU PR Coordinator Junko Nishikawa (81 3 5467-1298, 110;105;115;104;105;107;97;119;97;64;117;110;117;46;101;100;117;).

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The United Nations University was established in 1973 by the United Nations General Assembly, and commenced operations in September 1975 as an international community of scholars engaged in research, postgraduate training, and dissemination of knowledge. UNU functions as a think tank for the United Nations system, contributes to capacity building, particularly in developing countries, and serves as a platform for new and innovative ideas and dialogue. It comprises a network of 11 institutes and several programmes/units located around the world, coordinated by UNU Centre in Tokyo.