As the coronavirus epidemic threatened to worsen malnutrition, the World Food Program was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for battling hunger and working to prevent its use as “a weapon of war and conflict.”
The executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, which received the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago, has announced that he will leave his position at the helm of the largest humanitarian organization in the world at the conclusion of a six-year tenure.
Republican David Beasley led South Carolina for one term, from 1995 to 1999. Beasley announced in a statement on Saturday that he will leave his position in April 2023 after serving out his tenure. Serving in this capacity has brought Beasley the greatest joy and the most sadness of his life. “We have fed so many millions of people because of the goodwill of governments and private citizens. However, the sad truth is that we have not been able to feed everyone, and there is still great hunger in a prosperous society.”, he added.
Beasley was recommended for the position by Nikki Haley, another former South Carolina governor, and was appointed to the U.N. post by then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2017. During the Trump administration, Haley also served as the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations. Ertharin Cousin, a former American ambassador and attorney, was replaced by Beasley.
As the coronavirus epidemic threatened to worsen malnutrition, the World Food Program was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for battling hunger and working to prevent its use as “a weapon of war and conflict.”
Beasley’s tenure was extended by the Biden administration by one year in March 2022. He claimed in September that just 80 million people worldwide were in danger of starving when he took over in 2017. However, the COVID-19 epidemic, the war in Ukraine, and climate issues caused that figure to rise to 135 million.
Dwight Eisenhower ordered the establishment of the Rome-based World Food Program in 1961, and since then it has responded to other catastrophes, including the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, the Asian tsunami of 2004, and the famine in Ethiopia in 1984.
Beasley claimed that the selection process for his replacement had already started.