Melissa Fleming

Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, United Nations

Melissa Fleming was appointed UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications in September 2019. She leads the UN’s Department of Global Communications, which informs global audiences about the state of the world and engages them in building support for the work and goals of the United Nations.

In this role, Ms. Fleming oversees the Department’s strategic and crisis communications, including its multilingual news and digital media services, public outreach programs, and global campaigns. Under her leadership, the UN Department of Global Communications undertakes extensive efforts to combat misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech, while also promoting free and independent media. She led the development of the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity, a blueprint for healthy information ecosystems.

Previously, Ms. Fleming spent 10 years at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as Spokesperson for the High Commissioner and Head of Global Communications. Before that, she was the Spokesperson and Head of Media and Outreach at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). She earlier headed Press and Public Information at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and previously served as a Public Affairs Specialist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She also worked as a journalist.

Ms. Fleming is a TED speaker, the author of A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea, and the host of the award-winning UN podcast Awake at Night. She has published widely on strategic communications and is a frequent public speaker at universities and conferences. She holds a Master of Science in Journalism from the College of Communication at Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts in German Studies from Oberlin College.