Norwegian ex-minister new IFAD associate vice-president

Aaslaug Marie Haga. Photo credit: Twitter

 ROME – Åslaug Marie Haga has joined the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) as Associate Vice-President of the External Relations and Governance Department, IFAD said in a press release.

 In her role at IFAD, the UN’s rural development agency, Haga is responsible for communications, global engagement, partnerships and resource mobilization, and oversees the relations with the Fund’s 176 member states.

 Haga has over 35 years’ experience in conservation and food security, foreign affairs and politics, IFAD said. Most recently, she worked with the Global Crop Diversity Trust, where she was Executive Director from March 2013.

 “I come to IFAD at an exciting moment as we enter a new decade in which the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals have to be delivered,” Haga said.

 “I look forward to advancing IFAD’s mandate and serve the poorest in the rural world by mobilizing resources to invest in projects that align with partners’ objectives, aim for scalability, and lasting long-term results.”

 Haga has served with Norway’s Foreign Service as a career diplomat and held various positions in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the Norwegian Mission to the United Nations in New York and the Embassy in New Delhi, and State Secretary/Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1997-1999, IFAD reports.

 Haga’s political career includes serving as a Member of Parliament in Norway from 2001-2009. She has also been Minister of Cultural Affairs, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, and Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

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