Sara Beysolow Nyanti

Last updated
Sara Beysolow Nyanti
Sara Beysolow Nyanti (2024) (cropped).jpg
in 2024
United Nations Assistant Secretary General
In office
December 2021 –July 2023 [1]
Personal details
Born
Sara Frances Beysolow

1968 (age 55–56)
Liberia
SpouseStephen Joeboe Nyanti
Education College of West Africa, Cuttington University, New Charter University

Sara Frances Beysolow Nyanti (born 1968) is an international development expert, Liberian pastor and since February 2024 the Foreign Minister of Liberia. She has more than 20 years of professional experience. [2] She was the United Nations Assistant Secretary General from December 2021 to her retirement in July 2023. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Nyanti is the oldest of seven children of Winston E. Beysolow and Frances Hayes. [3] Her mother worked multiple jobs to support her children. [4] She attended the College of West Africa and Cuttington University. [4] She has a master's degree in public administration from the New Charter University in the United States and is completing a doctoral degree in transformational leadership. [5]

Career

Nyanti held senior positions in the Liberian Ministry of Health from 1999 to 2003, including as Director of the National AIDS Control Program. [5] She wrote the country's first grant to the Global Fund for money to combat malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis. [6] During the conflict and transitional government periods, Nyanti worked for the United Nations in Liberia. [5] [6]

From 2005 to 2009, Nyanti worked for the UN in Nepal, before becoming UNICEF HIV/AIDS advisor to the representatives in Namibia and Kenya in 2009. She was head of the UNICEF office in Lagos from 2015 to 2015. [7] She was UNICEF Representative in Gambia from 2015 to 2017 [8] and in Yemen from 2019 to 2020. [5] [9] In January 2021, she was appointed Resident Coordinator for the UN in Nepal. [10]

Nyanti was a key figure in the response to Nigeria's Ebola Virus Disease outbreak and has been a leader in the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] Since 2019, she has been the highest ranking Liberian in the UN. [7]

In November 2021, she moderated the second day of the Women Political Leaders' fourth annual Reykjavik Global Forum, noting the need for gender equality to move from policy to action. [12]

In December 2021, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Nyanti Deputy Special Representative, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan (UNMISS) and Resident Coordinator in South Sudan, [5] succeeding Alain Noudéhou of Benin. [13] The role is an Assistant Secretary General. [14] Nyanti will be leading the UN's efforts in recovery and stabilization in the world's newest country. [15]

Community service and activism

Nyanti is an ordained Reverend and a minister at the Zion Grove Baptist Church in Brewerville, outside Monrovia. [16] [15] In October 2020, she preached at the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention and expressed her disappointment over the "conspicuous silence of denominations of various churches to stand up and speak against societal ills in Liberia. [16] [17] She has spoken out and written about sexual violence in Liberia. [18]

In 2014, Nyanti founded an NGO, The Development Brokers, which operates the Social Movement for Change (SM4C) to change impoverished communities in Montserrado County. [19] She has launched two Rainbow Community Learning Huts for adolescent girls in response to escalating rape cases, [18] each accommodating 30 girls who are assisted with education and counselling. [19]

In January 2021, Nyanti was appointed to the Board of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), the national chapter of Transparency International. [7]

In the 2023 election, Nyanti ran for the presidency of Liberia with the African Liberation League party. [20]

Personal life

Nyanti is married to Stephen Joeboe Nyanti, and has children and grandchildren. [4] She is a feminist and on her appointment with the UN in Nepal, named the many Liberian women who had inspired her. [4]

Selected publications

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References

  1. 1 2 "Liberia: Sara Beysolow Nyanti Retires from the United Nations after 22 Years of Service to Humanity". Front Page Africa Online. 2023-07-03. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  2. ↑ "Secretary-General Appoints Sara Beysolow Nyanti of Liberia Deputy Special Representative in South Sudan | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  3. ↑ "Deacon Winston Edward Beysolow". TLC Africa. 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Beysolow Nyanti, Sara (22 January 2021). "A Tribute to the Liberian Woman (A response to congratulatory remarks)" . Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Secretary-General Appoints Sara Beysolow Nyanti of Liberia Deputy Special Representative in South Sudan". United Nations. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Celebrating Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Highest Ranking Liberian in the UN System". Daily Observer. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "Liberia: Sara Beysolow Nyanti Becomes CENTAL Board Member". Front Page Africa. 10 January 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  8. ↑ Ceesay, Halimatou (30 December 2015). "We need an independent media to protect children: UNICEF country rep". The Point. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "30 Years of Child Rights Yet Yemen Remains One of the Worst Places to be a Child- UNICEF". Relief Web. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  10. ↑ "Sara Beysolow Nyanti is new United Nations resident coordinator in Nepal". The Kathmandu Post. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  11. ↑ Beysolow Nyanti, Sara; Nyenswah, Tolbert; Nyan, Dougbeh Chris; Stone, Mardia (5 July 2021). "Fighting the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: Employing lessons from the Ebola Virus Disease response". The New Dawn. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  12. ↑ "How African Women Leaders Powered Together for Progress at The Reykjavík Global Forum". Bella Naija. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "Liberia's Sara Beysolow Nyanti Gets UN Deputy Special RepresentativePost". Daily Observer. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  14. ↑ Cassell, Joseph (7 December 2021). "Liberian Woman Appointed to Assistant Secretary General Level". Front Page Africa. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  15. 1 2 Brooks, Cholo (9 December 2021). "Who Is Sara Beysolow Nyanti – The Liberian Woman Now UN Deputy Secretary General". Global News Network Liberia. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  16. 1 2 Johnson, Obediah (29 October 2020). "Liberia: Highest-Ranking Liberian Serving in the United Nations System Urges Religious Leaders to Speak Truth to Power On Vices in the Country". All Africa. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  17. ↑ Yates, David A. (29 October 2020). "Liberia: 'Speak Truth to Power'". Daily Observer. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  18. 1 2 Beysolow Nyanti, Sara (2 September 2020). "Liberia: Stop Raping Our Future". Front Page Africa. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Liberia: Sara Beysolow Nyanti Opens Second Learning Hut for Adolescent Girls in Lower Virginia". Front Page Africa. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  20. ↑ Walker, Christopher C. (13 September 2023). "Liberia: Presidential Candidate Sara Beysolow Nyanti Urges Politicians To Desist from Divisive Politics". Front Page Africa. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
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