• January 14, 2005: Carol Bellamy disagrees with critics of her tenure Saturday, January 15, 2005 - 7:01 pm [1]

Bellamy finishes term - Veneman Reportedly To Be Chief Of UNICEF



Bellamy finishes term - Veneman Reportedly To Be Chief Of UNICEF

Veneman Reportedly To Be Chief Of UNICEF

By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 15, 2005; Page A08

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 14 -- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan will appoint the Bush administration's outgoing secretary of agriculture, Ann M. Veneman, as head of the U.N. Children's Fund next week, senior U.N. officials said.

Veneman was one of three candidates the administration proposed to succeed UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy, who will step down in May after leading the agency for 10 years, the officials said. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they had been instructed to keep the decision confidential until next week.

Annan will inform UNICEF's executive board of his decision on Monday and announce Veneman's appointment Tuesday, the officials said. She will oversee a staff of more than 7,000 people in 150 countries for a five-year term. Annan previously imposed a two-term limit on the position.

The top post at UNICEF has gone to an American since the organization was established in 1946. U.N. officials hope that the hiring of a prominent Republican official to a senior U.N. post will help improve the organization's troubled relations with the United States.

Calls to Veneman's spokeswoman were not returned Friday night. William Brisben, the U.S. delegate to the board, said Washington has not been informed of Annan's decision. But he said that "obviously, she is one of the candidates on our list, and the United States government would be very pleased if Secretary Veneman, with her wide-ranging experience, is selected by the secretary general."

Bellamy, 66, a Peace Corps director during the Clinton administration, had long been a target of social conservative critics who faulted her for promoting children's rights and reproductive health services for poor women.

Veneman, 55, is a political conservative who has served under Republican administrations dating back to President Ronald Reagan. Her views on many of the most politically sensitive issues confronting the United Nations' leading advocate for children, including access to sex education and reproductive health care services, remain unclear, according to U.N. officials.

Brisben praised Bellamy's administration of UNICEF but said the Bush administration would like to see it focus less on issues such as children's rights and more on reducing child mortality rates. "We believe that we've got to get back down to the basics of child survival," he said.

When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Coleman: Peace Corps mission and expansion Senator Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee that oversees the Peace Corps, says in an op-ed, A chance to show the world America at its best: "Even as that worthy agency mobilizes a "Crisis Corps" of former Peace Corps volunteers to assist with tsunami relief, I believe an opportunity exists to rededicate ourselves to the mission of the Peace Corps and its expansion to touch more and more lives."

RPCVs active in new session of Congress In the new session of Congress that begins this week, RPCV Congressman Tom Petri has a proposal to bolster Social Security, Sam Farr supported the objection to the Electoral College count, James Walsh has asked for a waiver to continue heading a powerful Appropriations subcommittee, Chris Shays will no longer be vice chairman of the Budget Committee, and Mike Honda spoke on the floor honoring late Congressman Robert Matsui.

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January 8, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Zambia RPCV Karla Berg interviews 1,374 people on Peace 7 Jan Breaking Taboo, Mandela Says Son Died of AIDS 6 Jan Dreadlocked PCV raises eyebrows in Africa 6 Jan RPCV Jose Ravano directs CARE's efforts in Sri Lanka 6 Jan Persuading Retiring Baby Boomers to Volunteer 6 Jan Inventor of "Drown Proofing" retires 6 Jan NPCA Membership approves Board Changes 5 Jan Timothy Shriver announces "Rebuild Hope Fund" 5 Jan More Water Bottles, Fewer Bullets 4 Jan Poland RPCV Rebecca Parker runs Solterra Books 2 Jan Peace Corps Fund plans event for September 30 Dec RPCV Carmen Bailey recounts bout with cerebral malaria 28 Dec more top stories...

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Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help?

The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005.

Changing of the Guard With Lloyd Pierson's departure, Marie Wheat has been named acting Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations responsible for the day-to-day management of the Peace Corps. Although Wheat is not an RPCV and has limited overseas experience, in her two years at the agency she has come to be respected as someone with good political skills who listens and delegates authority and we wish her the best in her new position.

Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."

RPCV safe after Terrorist Attack RPCV Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the U.S. consul general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia survived Monday's attack on the consulate without injury. Five consular employees and four others were killed. Abercrombie-Winstanley, the first woman to hold the position, has been an outspoken advocate of rights for Arab women and has met with Saudi reformers despite efforts by Saudi leaders to block the discussions.

Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

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