Denmark's Inger Andersen elected UN environment chief

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. General Assembly has elected Inger Andersen of Denmark as the new executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, which is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Andersen's nomination by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was approved Wednesday by acclamation for a four-year term. She succeeds Erik Solheim of Norway, who resigned in November following widespread criticism of his excessive expenses on official global travel.

Andersen has been director general of the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2015 and brings more than 30 years of experience in international development economics, environmental sustainability and policy-making to the Nairobi-based organization.

She spent 15 years at the World Bank, most recently as vice president of the Middle East and North Africa region from 2011 to 2015.