Margaret Joan Anstee (1926- ) served the UN for over four decades, rising to the rank of under-secretary-general in 1987, the first woman to hold a position at this level. She has worked on operational development programs in all regions of the world, mostly with UNDP. She was director-general of the UN Office in Vienna (1987-92), head of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, and coordinator of UN narcotic drug control. In 1992-93, she was the Secretary-General’s special representative to Angola, the first woman to head a UN peacekeeping mission. She was born in the UK and educated at Cambridge and London Universities. Her extensive writings on UN peace operations, reform, and economic and social development include Orphan of the Cold War and her autobiography Never Learn to Type: A Woman at the United Nations.

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