United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 26 July 2023 the appointment of Tatiana Molcean of Moldova as the next Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). She will succeed Olga Algayerova of Slovakia, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her commitment and dedicated service to the Organization. Ms. Algayerova's term in office will conclude at the end of August.
Ms. Molcean brings to the position twenty years of experience in the public sector with extensive international cooperation and development experience, and in-depth knowledge and expertise across the entire UNECE membership. She is currently the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Moldova to the United Nations Office, World Trade Organization and other international organizations in Geneva. As such, she has played an active role in UNECE’s work over recent years.
Ms. Algayerova stated “I warmly congratulate Ms. Molcean upon her appointment as Executive Secretary. As the Pan-European region and the world navigate great challenges, I am confident that her leadership will help countries harness multilateral cooperation at UNECE which we need more than ever. Her appointment also sends a signal of the UN’s continued commitment to gender equality as a foundation for sustainable development.”
Ms. Molcean stated “I am honoured by UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ decision to be appointed as the next UNECE Executive Secretary. I am looking forward to bringing our region’s contribution to the Common Agenda, for inclusive and effective multilateralism.”
Prior to her role as Permanent Representative, Ms. Molcean served as State Secretary and Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Bilateral Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (2017-2020), Deputy Director General for European Integration and Head of the Division for Economic and Sector Cooperation with the European Union (2012-2017) and Head of the Division for Economic Cooperation and Sectorial Coordination at the General Directorate for European Integration (2004-2008). A career diplomat, she has also served as Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova to Sweden (2008-2011).
Ms. Molcean holds a LLM Degree in Law from the Faculty of International Law at Moldova State University and completed the Multilateral Diplomacy Program from the Graduate Institute of Geneva, Switzerland. She is fluent in Romanian, English and Russian, with advanced knowledge of French.