Dr Noeleen Heyzer

Former Under-Secretary-General United Nations

Dr Noeleen Heyzer is a social scientist and former United Nations Under-Secretary-General — the highest-ranking Singaporean in the UN system during her tenure (2007–2015).  

She was the first woman to serve as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) since its founding in 1947. Responding to the climate and 2008 financial crises, she focused on identifying new drivers of sustainable and inclusive development to sustain the region’s dynamism. Major milestones during her leadership included advancing regional connectivity and coordinated responses to shared vulnerabilities as building blocks for regional cooperation. These efforts resulted in groundbreaking intergovernmental agreements on a regional intermodal transport and logistics system (especially for landlocked developing countries); inclusive socio-economic policies and social protection; regional disaster preparedness; regional proposals for paperless trade; an energy and water security cooperation framework; exploration of an Asian ICT superhighway; financing and technology for an inclusive and green future; and the empowerment of women and youth.  

Prior to her role at ESCAP, Dr Heyzer was the first Executive Director from outside North America to lead the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) from 1994 to 2007. Under her leadership, UNIFEM advanced women’s economic security and rights, leadership and governance, peace and security, human rights, and the elimination of violence against women. She was widely recognised for her pivotal role in the Security Council’s adoption and implementation of the landmark Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, and for her missions to conflict-affected areas worldwide to promote women’s participation in peacebuilding and recovery. 

Dr Heyzer served under four UN Secretaries-General and was the UNSG’s Special Adviser for Timor-Leste (2013–2015), supporting peacebuilding, state-building, and sustainable development. She later served as a member of the UNSG’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation (2017–2021) and as the UNSG’s Special Envoy on Myanmar (2021–2023). 

A founding member of several international women’s networks, Dr Heyzer has served on numerous boards and advisory committees of international organisations, including the UNDP Human Development Report, the Asian Development Bank’s Eminent Persons Group, the Board of Trustees of the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the Governing Board of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (NUS). She was also a member of the Kofi Annan Global Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age; the Commonwealth High-Level Commission on Respect and Understanding chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen; advisory board of the Asia Global Institute, chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Michael Spence; and the jury for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Innovation Award for Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment. 

Dr Heyzer is currently Rector of Ridge View Residential College, National University of Singapore. In the turbulent era of disruptions, artificial intelligence, climate crisis and conflicts, she initiated the Rector’s Dialogue Series on Practicing Leadership for a Sustainable World. The conversations with experienced leaders focus on ethical and wise leadership to support students to be workplace and future ready, with courage to co-create a world that reflects our shared values and human dignity. 

Born and raised in Singapore, Dr Heyzer was the top sociology student of her year, holding a Bachelor of Arts (Upper Hons.) and a Master of Science from the University of Singapore, and later a Doctorate in Social Sciences from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.