Sara Frances Beysolow Nyanti (born 1968) is an international development expert and Liberian pastor. She has more than 20 years of professional experience.[2] She was the United NationsAssistant Secretary General from December 2021 to her retirement in July 2023.[1]
From 2005 to 2009, Nyanti worked for the UN in Nepal, before becoming UNICEF HIV/AIDS advisor to the representatives in Namibia and Kenya in 2009. She was head of the UNICEF office in Lagos from 2015 to 2015.[7] She was UNICEF Representative in Gambia from 2015 to 2017[8] and in Yemen from 2019 to 2020.[5][9] In January 2021, she was appointed Resident Coordinator for the UN in Nepal.[10]
In November 2021, she moderated the second day of the Women Political Leaders' fourth annual Reykjavik Global Forum, noting the need for gender equality to move from policy to action.[12]
In December 2021, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Nyanti Deputy Special Representative, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan (UNMISS) and Resident Coordinator in South Sudan,[5] succeeding Alain NoudéhouofBenin.[13] The role is an Assistant Secretary General.[14] Nyanti will be leading the UN's efforts in recovery and stabilization in the world's newest country.[15]
Nyanti is an ordained Reverend and a minister at the Zion Grove Baptist Church in Brewerville, outside Monrovia.[16][15] In October 2020, she preached at the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention and expressed her disappointment over the "conspicuous silence of denominations of various churches to stand up and speak against societal ills in Liberia.[16][17] She has spoken out and written about sexual violence in Liberia.[18]
In 2014, Nyanti founded an NGO, The Development Brokers, which operates the Social Movement for Change (SM4C) to change impoverished communities in Montserrado County.[19] She has launched two Rainbow Community Learning Huts for adolescent girls in response to escalating rape cases,[18] each accommodating 30 girls who are assisted with education and counselling.[19]
In January 2021, Nyanti was appointed to the Board of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), the national chapter of Transparency International.[7]
In the 2023 election, Nyanti ran for the presidency of Liberia with the African Liberation League party.[20]
Nyanti is married to Stephen Joeboe Nyanti, and has children and grandchildren.[4] She is a feminist and on her appointment with the UN in Nepal, named the many Liberian women who had inspired her.[4]