United Nations Foundation Welcomes U.S. Ambassador John Lange as Senior Fellow for Global Health Diplomacy

The United Nations Foundation announced today that retired U.S. Ambassador John E. Lange will serve as its Senior Fellow for Global Health Diplomacy. In this role Lange will work to generate the political will and resources necessary to end vaccine-preventable diseases, strengthen strategic engagement with UN health agencies, and support the UN Foundation’s work with partners on the ground to achieve strong global health outcomes. Lange has extensive leadership experience in global health issues and longstanding involvement in UN affairs, and will serve as the primary focal point for the Foundation’s global health diplomacy activities.

“It is an honor to welcome Ambassador Lange to our team,” said Kathy Calvin, the Foundation’s President and CEO. “His sustained, far-reaching career positions him perfectly to add further depth to the UN Foundation’s global health diplomacy work.”

Prior to joining the UN Foundation, Ambassador Lange spent four years at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation engaging in high-level outreach to governments and international organizations to advance the Gates Foundation’s global health and development goals in Africa. He has also served as co-chair of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Polio Partners Group since its launch.

“The UN Foundation is a unique resource in its ability to bring the UN, governments, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector together to solve global problems,” said Ambassador Lange. “I am honored to bring my experience to this position and to work with the many partners of the Foundation to end polio and improve global health.”

Ambassador Lange had a distinguished 28-year career in the Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, including service as the Special Representative on Avian and Pandemic Influenza and as Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator at the inception of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Botswana from 1999 to 2002, where he oversaw the provision of U.S. assistance for the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Lange headed the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, during the August 7, 1998, terrorist bombing, for which he received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award for skilled leadership and extraordinary courage.  Earlier, he served at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva managing U.S. humanitarian and refugee assistance.  Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1981, he spent five years working for the United Nations Association of the USA in New York.

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About United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals.  For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.