Author Archive

Natalie Samarasinghe

Natalie Samarasinghe is Executive Director of the United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK). She is the first woman to hold this role. She speaks and writes regularly on UN issues, and has produced a number of publications, including the eight-volume SAGE Major Work on the United Nations, which she co-edited with Sam Daws. In 2013, she co-founded 1 for 7 Billion, the global campaign to improve how the UN selects its Secretary-General, which has led to a more transparent and inclusive process. 

What is the United Nations? What does it do and how does it do what it does? Together with Sam Daws, Natalie Samarasinghe has recently co-edited a leading eight-volume reference text on the United Nations – The SAGE Major Work on the United Nations. It is dedicated to the structures and the role of the UN over the course of its history and at the present juncture. In this Q&A, Natalie Samarasinghe, Executive Director of the United Nations Association (UNA-UK), responds to the questions of Oxford graduate Genevieve Woods.