Justin Forsyth is a British non-profit executive who served as the deputy executive director of

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

from 2016 to 2018. Prior to this appointment on 15 January 2016 by

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

, Forsyth was the chief executive officer of

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

Early life and education

Forsyth was born in June 1965. He earned a bachelor's degree in history and politics from

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

Career

Forsyth has been involved in advocacy campaigns, fundraising and coalitions which have collaborated with non-governmental organizations, the private sector, national governments and the

. Forsyth was employed by

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

from 1989 to 2004. While at Oxfam, he was employed alongside Kevin Watkins, who subsequently succeeded Forsyth as CEO of Save the Children. Between 2004 and 2010, as special adviser to

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

and

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, he helped shape global efforts on development, climate change and humanitarian policies, including leading successful efforts around the G8 and the G20. Forsyth served as an advisor to Prime Minister

, and acted as director of strategic communication at

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...

from 2007 to 2010. While campaigning, Brown voiced his irritation to Forsyth following a conversation with a voter, calling her "a bigoted woman." Brown had forgotten that he was still wearing a microphone once he had got into his car, and the conversation was captured on a

hot mic A hot mic, sometimes referred to as an open microphone or (in aviation) a stuck mic, is in general an apparent error in which a microphone is switched on or remains on, especially without the speaker's realizing. As used in online gaming, the t ...

. The controversy later became known as Bigotgate. Forsyth was CEO of Save the Children from 2010 to 2016. In January 2016 UNICEF announced Forsyth's appointment as deputy executive director. In February 2018, it emerged that three female workers had accused Forsyth of inappropriate behaviour, texts, and emails before he left Save the Children; Forsyth said he had "apologised unreservedly" to them for his "unsuitable and thoughtless conversations".

later said that when Forsyth had joined it in 2016, Save the Children's reference for him had not mentioned the allegations and that it was "continuing to work with him and Save the Children to get a better understanding of the facts". Forsyth resigned from UNICEF on 22 February 2018, wishing to avoid "serious damage to our cause and the case for aid" that might result from his continued affiliation. After resigning from UNICEF, Forsyth founded North End Strategy, a communications and management consulting firm based in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forsyth, Justin UNICEF people British officials of the United Nations Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 1965 births