Economist Rebeca Grynspan, who recently became the first woman to be appointed as the head of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), hails from
- (a)Germany
- (b)Poland
- (c)Costa Rica
- (d)Mexico
Correct — C, Costa Rica. Rebeca Grynspan is a Costa Rican economist and a former Vice-President of Costa Rica. In 2021 she became the first woman and first Central American to head the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as its Secretary-General. She hails from Costa Rica, so option (c) is right.
- (a)Germany — Grynspan is not German; she is a Costa Rican economist.
- (b)Poland — She has no Polish connection — she comes from Central America, not Europe.
- (d)Mexico — A tempting Latin-American guess, but she is Costa Rican, not Mexican.
UNCTAD, established in 1964 and headquartered in Geneva, is the UN body dealing with trade and development. Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica became its first woman Secretary-General in 2021.
The distractor Mexico traps those who know Grynspan is Latin American but cannot place her exact country; the anchor is that she is Costa Rican.
- Rebeca Grynspan is a Costa Rican economist and former Vice-President of Costa Rica.
- She became UNCTAD's Secretary-General in 2021 — the first woman and first Central American to hold the post.
- UNCTAD, established in 1964, is headquartered in Geneva.
- She had earlier led the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB).
- Guessing Mexico for a Latin-American name.
- Confusing UNCTAD with the WTO or UNIDO.
Person-to-country current-affairs item — match the UNCTAD chief to her home country.
Consider the following countries: 1. Brazil 2. Mexico 3. South Africa According to UNCTAD, which of the above is/are categorized as “Emerging Economies”?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 3 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(d) 1, 2 and 3
Same organisation — UNCTAD. That UPSC item tests UNCTAD's classification of emerging economies; this one tests the nationality of UNCTAD's first woman Secretary-General.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Where is the headquarters of UNCTAD located?
- (a)New York
- (b)Geneva
- (c)Vienna
- (d)Paris
Answer(b) Geneva — UNCTAD is headquartered there.
- practice — not a real PYQ
UNCTAD, which Rebeca Grynspan heads, deals primarily with which area?
- (a)Trade and development
- (b)Atomic energy
- (c)Refugees
- (d)Labour standards
Answer(a) Trade and development — that is UNCTAD's mandate.