Richard Jolly

Sir Arthur "Richard" Jolly, (born 30 June 1934) is a development economist who served as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 2000. He has been named one of the fifty key thinkers globally in developmental economics.

Jolly currently serves as Honorary Professor and Research Associate of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex focusing on issues of world development and the role of the UN in global governance. From 1982 to 2000, he was an Assistant Secretary-General of the UN, first as deputy executive director of UNICEF and from 1996 as Coordinator of the UNDP’s Human Development Report. He co-authored the book Adjustment with a human face: protecting the vulnerable and promoting growth. In 1958, Jolly pursued postgraduate studies at Yale University, receiving a PhD in 1962.

Jolly was appointed Research Fellow at the East Africa Institute of Social Research in 1963, advising on manpower to the Government of Zambia (1964–66), and Research Officer in Applied Economics at Cambridge University (1964–68). He also served as Special Consultant on North-South issues to the Secretary-General of the OECD in 1978, and from 1978 to 1981 was a member and rapporteur of the UN Committee on Development Planning. with responsibilities for UNICEF's programmes in over 130 countries of the world, including UNICEF's strategy for support to countries in reducing child mortality and implementing the goals agreed at the 1990 World Summit for Children. In UNICEF, he was also directly involved in efforts to ensure more attention to the needs of children and women in the making of economic adjustment policies, and co-authored the book Adjustment with a Human Face. From 1982 to 1985, he was vice president of the Society for International Development and from 1987 to 1996, was Chairman of its North/South Roundtable.

From 1996 to 2000, Jolly became Special Adviser to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and principal coordinator of the widely acclaimed Human Development Report

As a senior UN officer, Jolly was much involved with reforming and ensuring collaboration between its operational agencies. From 1996 to 2000 he chaired the system-wide UN Sub-Committee on Nutrition (SCN) and from 2000 to 2007 the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), both of which prepared major reports setting out global goals and strategies for reducing malnutrition and ensuring access to hygiene, sanitation and water on a worldwide basis.

As co-director of the UN Intellectual History Project (1999–2010), and a co-author of five others, three of which were recognized by Choice magazine as outstanding academic books of the year. One of these volumes, UN Voices: the Struggle for Social Justice and Development, contains summaries of in-depth interviews of the leadership and experiences of the four living Secretaries-General and 75 other senior UN officials.

Other publications which Jolly has co-authored include five of the volumes of the UN Intellectual History, five Human Development Reports (1996 to 2000), Adjustment with a Human Face; Disarmament and World Development; Planning Education for African Development and numerous scholarly articles.

Sir Richard has served as a trustee of OXFAM, Chairman of the UN Association of the United Kingdom and as an Overseas Development Institute Member of Council.

International appointments

Honorary Vice-President of the British Association of Former UN Civil Servants Member of the Independent Advisory Panel for the One World Trust's Global Accountability Project Senior Research Fellow at The CUNY Graduate Center The Headstrong Society - UNDP (Chairman 1998) The Headstrong Society - Columbia University (2001–present) Joint Founding Editor of the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities.

Honours

Orders and decorations 45px - KCMG for "contributions to international development" 45px - UN Medal for "International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia"

Academic distinctions 1998: Hon. LittD (UEA) 1992: Hon. DLitt (Sussex) 2007: Hon. PhD (Erasmus) 2001: Hon. Fellow (Magdalene Coll, Cantab)

Civic awards Freeman of the City of London Master of the Worshipful Company of Curriers.

Personal life In 1963, Jolly married primatologist Alison Bishop. They had four children together, including playwright and screenwriter Arthur M. Jolly.

Principal works

Papers Pdf version.