Ertharin Cousin
Ertharin Cousin Cousin in 2009 12th Executive Director of the World Food Programme Incumbent Assumed office April 5, 2012 Preceded by Josette Sheeran (2007–2012) 9th United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture In office August 17, 2009 – April 5, 2012 President Barack Obama Preceded by Gaddi Vasquez Succeeded by David J. Lane Personal details Born 1957 Chicago, Illinois Political party Democratic Profession Government Food industry executive Charity executive Ertharin Cousin (born 1957) is, since 2012, the twelfth Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. From 2009 to 2012, Ertharin Cousin served under President Barack Obama as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, serving in Rome, Italy, and chief of the United States Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome. Before that, she worked in a variety of public and private sector positions, first as a Democratic Party official, later specializing in the food industry and related charities from the late 1990s on. In 2014, Cousin was ranked number 45th on the Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women and she was named to the TIME 100 most influential people in the world list.