Libya
OUR LEADERSHIP
Senior Management
The UNDP Resident Representative is the UNDP Administrator's representative at the country level, and head of the country office being ultimately responsible for the quality and sustainability of UNDP interventions, including UNDP policies and procedures.
Sophie Kemkhadze
Resident Representative for Libya
Sophie is a development professional with twenty-five years of experience in leadership and technical advisory positions, of which seventeen years with UNDP.
Until recently, Sophie was a Deputy Resident Representative of programmes in UNDP Somalia; before that, she was a Senior Advisor with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau. During 2018-2022, Sophie served as Deputy Resident Representative in UNDP Indonesia, where she led the work of the Country Office in the areas of resilience, climate and innovative finance, energy transition, health governance, and digitalisation. She is particularly proud of the Gold Gender Seal Award, which the Indonesia Country Office earned under her leadership in 2020. Previously, she was Deputy Country Director of UNDP Nepal (2014-2018), where, among others, she led the Country Office’s work in post-disaster reconstruction and resilience building following a devastating earthquake in 2015, support to the federalisation and parliamentary development following the approval of the new Constitution, and women’s empowerment. Sophie started her career with UNDP as ARR in Georgia CO in 2007, and served in Armenia as DRR a.i. in 2013.
Before joining UNDP in 2007, Sophie managed large-scale development projects with USAID, DFID and the EU, mainly in the fields of agriculture development and public finance management. She also worked as a Technical advisor with the WB and FAO. During 2004-2007 she was an advisor to the Ministers of Agriculture and Finance in Georgia and was a member of the Reforms Council under the Office of the Prime Minister of Georgia. Sophie was also a member of the Advisory Board of the Community Development Initiatives of the British Petroleum Exploration.
A Georgian citizen, she holds a PhD in Mathematics from the Georgian Academy of Sciences and a Master’s in Economics and Policy from Warwick University, UK. She earned her undergraduate degree in Mechanics and Mathematics from Tbilisi State University.
Mohammed Salih
Deputy Resident Representative
Mohammed Salih of Eritrea has extensive experience in development, crisis prevention, early recovery, stabilization, livelihoods, and governance in various countries.
Mr. Salih served as Deputy Resident Representative to UNDP Lebanon before his recent appointment in Libya.
He began his 14-year UN career as a Communications and Human Rights Officer at the United Nations Office in Eritrea. Then, he served for seven years as a Communications Specialist and Programme Coordinator for UNDP Libya.
Prior to that, he was the Head of Communications and Information for the Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission.
Mr Salih holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy and Management from the University of York and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Asmara.