The UN Resident Coordinator Office
The United Nations Resident Coordinator Office supports the work of the UN Resident Coordinator. The UN Resident Coordinator leads the UN country team in consultations with the Government to define and agree on the UN strategic response to the Government’s development priorities. This response is captured in the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) or United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF).
The UN Resident Coordinator in Botswana
Wenyan Yang is the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UN Secretary General’s Representative in Botswana since June 2025. She leads the UN Country Team which consists of 22 UN entities accredited to work in Botswana. As the most senior UN official in country, she is tasked with facilitating effective collaboration between the UN family, Government, and all development partners to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
Ms. Yang has more than 30 years of experience in economic and social development. Prior to her appointment in Botswana she served as Chief of Branch in the Division for Inclusive Social Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), where she focused on the social dimension of the sustainable development agenda, addressing poverty, inequality, employment, and social inclusion issues to advance the well-being of all people. Through research and policy analysis, she worked to bridge academic findings and deliberations on sustainable development at the United Nations by formulating evidence-based, context-appropriate policy recommendations to Member States through support to intergovernmental bodies and technical assistance for national capacity development. As Chief of Branch she managed the team responsible for coordinating and providing substantive and technical services to the Commission for Social Development, the Economic and Social Council, and the Main Committees of the General Assembly, as well as preparing the World Social Report.
Ms. Yang also worked in DESA’s Division for the Advancement of Women to promote gender equality and empowerment of women in development. She was responsible for communication and outreach to civil society organizations and national machinery and mechanisms for gender equality. She began her United Nations career as a macroeconomic policy analyst in DESA’s Economic Analysis and Policy Division, with responsibility for monitoring macroeconomic performance and policy developments, providing analysis of macroeconomic situation and prospects and policy recommendations in developing countries in Asia and Least Developed Countries. She also worked on post-conflict reconstruction and international trade and commodities market.
Ms. Yang has a master’s degree in economics from New York University in the United States and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Peking University of China.
