Key facts
- Luke Lindberg has been selected to lead the United Nations World Food Program.
- The appointment is for a five-year term.
- Lindberg was nominated by the Trump administration.
- The selection was revealed in a letter from Courtenay Rattray, chief of staff to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
- Lindberg currently serves as USDA undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs.
- The United States has traditionally been the largest donor to the WFP.
Luke Lindberg, the US Department of Agriculture's undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, has been selected to become the next executive director of the United Nations World Food Program. The appointment, which is for a five-year term, is pending final consultations with the WFP Executive Board. The intended appointment was revealed in a letter from Courtenay Rattray, chief of staff to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, to Carla Barroso Carneiro, president of the World Food Program executive board.
Lindberg was nominated by the Trump administration. He is the son-in-law of Senate Majority Leader John Thune. His appointment continues a UN practice since 1992 of naming an American to head the WFP, the world's largest food aid distributor, with the United States traditionally being its largest donor. Lindberg's selection comes as the Trump administration has reduced U.S. foreign-assistance spending and restructured international food-aid programs. Before his current role, Lindberg founded South Dakota Trade, served as chief strategy officer for the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and was a senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute.