African Integrity Magazine – Leila De Lima: First Female UN Secretary General

Leila De Lima: First Female UN Secretary General

Jan 16, 2017 Samuel Cover Story, Foreign News 0

With the term of the current United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon coming to an end, a Filipino Senator, Leila de Lima, becomes the first woman to be elected to that position. Lima defeated 10 others including men to emerge the new UN Secretary-General.

This is the first time a woman is holding the leading role in the United Nations since its formation in 1945.

Leila de Lima is a Filipino lawyer and senator. She was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as Chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights in May 2008. She served the commission until June 30, 2010, after resigning from its chairmanship to accept her appointment by President Benigno S. Aquino III as the Philippines’ new Secretary of the Department of Justice.

She resigned from this office five years later, on October 12, 2015, to focus on her candidacy for a seat in the Senate of the Philippines in what was then an oncoming 2016 Philippine general election. She eventually won one of the twelve contested seats and will serve as a Philippine senator in the Philippines’ 17th Congress.

The appointment of Senator Leila de Lima who is the first woman to be elected to the prestigious office of Secretary General of UN that is saddled with evolving policy, manpower training educating the world with man-power influence, security of nations, human rights protection, and Climatic change influence.

Similarly, Ban-ki moon had pleaded that his replacement should be a woman stressing the agitation that it is high time a lady should be appointed to that post thus granting ladies equal rights as enshrine in UN Charter.

Senator Leila de Lima is a Lawyer by profession, who was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal in May 2008 as Chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights.

She served the Commission on that post until 30th June 2010 when the resignation paper was submitted to the Commission by her when she was elevated to another office as Secretary of the Department of Justice. The appointment was approved by President Benigno S. Aquino III by virtues of education, hardwork and leadership qualities which culminated to her appointment as the New Secretary General of the UN.

Senator Leila de Lima resigned from office five years later on October 12, 2015 to focus on her candidacy for a seat in the Senate of the Philippine Congress, eventually she won the senatorial seat as one of the twelve contested seats in the Philippine 17th Congress.