12 March 2015: The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative has submitted his resignation to the members of the SE4ALL Advisory Board. Kandeh Yumkella, SE4ALL CEO since July 2013, stated in a letter to the Advisory Board that, while not an easy decision, he believes it is time to “go home to serve [his] people in Sierra Leone.”

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his deep gratitude for Yumkella’s “outstanding service,” saying he has been “a visionary and dynamic leader” of the SE4ALL initiative, advocating passionately to make energy a “centrepiece for sustainable development and climate change.” Ban further applauded Yumkella’s drive and compassion in leading the global movement, which enabled him to “mobilize action across all stakeholder groups” and help shape the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on energy.

In his letter, Yumkella describes his 19 years leading various UN specialized agencies and initiatives as an “honour and privilege,” noting how much he learned along the way. Calling SE4ALL “a vision whose time has come,” he states that the initiative has demonstrated in “very practical terms that achieving universal energy access and mitigating climate change are not mutually exclusive goals, but can be part of the same, coherent solution.” He further expresses confidence that, with the backing of the strong community that has grown the initiative to where it is today, “the SE4ALL movement will continue to grow and flourish.”

Yumkella will formally step down in July 2015. The future arrangements for SE4ALL’s leadership have not yet been announced. However, Yumkella’s letter explains that the Deputy Secretary-General and the SE4All Executive Committee will oversee the transition process, while also seeking a longer-term institutional arrangement for the initiative. He also notes that a selection panel has been created to recruit the next leader of SE4ALL. [SE4ALL Press Release] [Statement of UNSG] [Daily Press Briefing by UNSG Spokesperson, 12 March 2015]