During the First Regular Session of the Governing Council of the World Food Programme (WFP), representatives of the Council’s 36 member states elected the Permanent Representative of Poland to the United Nations in Rome, Ambassador Artur Pollok, as President of the organisation. “Ambassador Pollok is the first Pole ever to hold the post, replacing Shameem Ahsan of Bangladesh”, said Łukasz Jasina, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In his speech, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland declared his full commitment to continue the efforts to help the most affected regions of the world.

„I will support the efforts of the World Food Programme to provide support to countries most in need, especially those affected by humanitarian crises”, he noted. “I particularly want to push for the kind of aid that will help communities achieve self-sufficiency and resilience to shocks”, the new WFP president added.

Artur Pollok has obtained a PhD in economics and was vice-president of the Polish Economic Society from 2005 to 2015. As an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, he is the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to the United Nations in Rome. He represents Poland at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). 

The World Food Programme is a UN agency, established in 1963. It is also the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, set up to fight global hunger. Its seat is in Rome. The organisation seeks to eradicate hunger and malnutrition with a focus on helping in such a way as to make societies self-sufficient rather than dependent on food aid. In October 2020, the WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Adrian Andrzejewski