The Kabul Tribune (KT) — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced that Turhan Saleh has officially assumed his duties as the organization's new Resident Representative for Afghanistan, effective July 15, 2026.
According to UNDP Afghanistan, Saleh arrived in the country
this week to lead the agency's work supporting communities, strengthening
livelihoods, empowering women entrepreneurs and advancing sustainable
development across Afghanistan.
Before taking up his new role, Saleh served as Senior
Adviser in UNDP's Regional Bureau for Arab States, where he focused on
transitions from U.N. peacekeeping and special political missions.
From December 2023 to March 2026, he was Deputy Director of
UNDP's Crisis Bureau, overseeing humanitarian-to-development transitions,
crisis operations, crisis financing and strategic policy initiatives.
Earlier, Saleh served as UNDP Resident Representative in
Ethiopia from May 2019 to November 2023.
UNDP said Saleh joined the organization in 1997 as a policy
adviser and has since held several senior leadership positions, including
Director of the Millennium Development Goals Unit, Deputy Director of the
Division for U.N. Affairs, Country Director and acting Resident Representative
in Nigeria, Chief of the Country Support Team in the Regional Bureau for
Africa, and Strategic Plan Coordinator in the Executive Office.
According to the agency, Saleh has worked directly with four
UNDP administrators during his career and has contributed to nearly all of the
organization's strategic plans since they were first introduced.
Before joining UNDP, Saleh began his U.N. career with UNICEF
after completing graduate studies in 1989. He served in Ghana and Eritrea and
contributed to UNICEF's first country program in post-apartheid South Africa.
He also completed internships with UNICEF, the World Bank and the United
Nations World Food Council.
Saleh holds a bachelor's degree with honors in political
economy from Cornell University, a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton
University, and also studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Christ
Church, University of Oxford.
