Bilgé Ögün Bassani, the Chief Executive Officer of François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) International, has spent her entire working life dealing first hand with development issues in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Bilge Bassani has also worked with FXB as CEO from 2004 to 2008. FXB is an NGO whose mission is to fight poverty and through investments transform the lives of the world’s orphans and vulnerable children, their families and communities. FXB has been a pioneer in the application of social entrepreneur models with programs in 12 countries.

From 2008 to 2009 as the Representative of the UN Foundation she supported their activities in Europe. The UN Foundation was launched by Ted Turner in 1998 with a remarkable $1 billion gift. His purpose was not only to support UN causes, but also to foster public-private cooperation with the United Nations on the key challenges of the 21st century. Governed by a distinguished International Board of Directors, the UN Foundation has emerged as the platform for partnership with the UN.

Prior to joining FXB, she worked for more than 20 years at the United Nations, most recently as Deputy Executive Director and Director of Programmes for the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP). UNFIP was established by the United Nations Secretary-General to work with the UN for channelling Ted Turners’ $ 1 billion contribution to support UN causes.

Ms. Bassani joined the UN in December 1983 and was seconded to the Office of Emergency Operations in Africa (OEOA). In Addis Ababa she served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary General Kurt Jansen, the Representative of the Secretary General for the Ethiopian Emergency.

Ms. Bassani was UNICEF Representative in Kigali, Rwanda from 1986 to 1988. From 1988-90 she was Senior Programme Officer at the UNICEF International Child Development Center in Florence, Italy. From 1991-92 she served at UNICEF Headquarters in New York first as Deputy Chief of the Middle East and North Africa Section and Focal Point for the Iraq Emergency and later as part of the Executive Director’s Office as Deputy Director, Inter-Agency Affairs. She was the Deputy Regional Director of the Geneva Regional Office from 1993-99, heading the unit responsible for the coordination of UNICEF National Committees and Implementation of the Convention on Child Rights.

Between 1977-82, she worked with Save the Children USA, as Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East. She was with the Ford Foundation West Africa Regional Office in Lagos as a Program Consultant from 1982-83.

Ms. Bassani studied Business Administration at the American University in Istanbul and obtained her BA in 1965. In 1968 she received an MA in Economics from the University of Istanbul, where she also completed the course work toward a Doctorate in Developmental Economics in 1979. Ms. Bassani was born in Ankara, Turkey.

• Member of Advisory Committee, Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Health and Human Rights Center, Harvard School of Public Health
• Founding Member of Steering Group of Joint Learning Initiative for Children and HIV/AIDS
• Member, Solutions International Advisors
• Recipient of American Field Service (AFS) Scholarship to USA, 1960 – 1961
• Member, COSMOPOLITAN CLUB, New York since 2004