UN mourns loss of Deputy Secretary-General of its trade and development arm

The United Nations today mourned the death of Dirk Jan Bruinsma, the Deputy Secretary-General of the world body’s Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who passed away at age 56 in The Hague, Netherlands, on 22 April following a brief illness.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Mr. Bruisnsma,” his spokesperson Michele Montas said in New York today.

“He extends his condolences to Mr. Bruinsma’s family, friends and colleagues.”

In a press release, UNCTAD said that “Mr. Bruinsma was instrumental in strengthening the organization, and particularly its work on science and technology, technical cooperation and communications.”

The agency also said that Mr. Bruinsma was represented the organization in several international meetings, and was also actively involved in efforts to reform the UN.

Before joining UNCTAD last January, he served as the Director-General of Foreign Economic Relations in the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands. He had a strong interest in development cooperation and led his country’s delegation to the economic policy committees of the European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Prior to entering the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Mr. Bruinsma held positions in the Dutch Ministry of Finance and also worked in the private sector, managing his own consulting firm.

Based in Geneva, UNCTAD promotes the integration of developing countries into the world economy, aiming to help shape current policy debates, with a particular focus on ensuring that domestic policies and international action are mutually supportive in bringing about sustainable development.