Ursula Wynhoven is an international lawyer with more than two and a half decades of experience, most of which have been with the United Nations. She is Director and Representative to the United Nations for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Head of its UN Affairs Division. The ITU is the UN’s specialized agency for information and communication technologies committed to connecting the world wherever people live and whatever their means. She works at the intersection of technology and development, promoting digital inclusion and the use of ICTs for sustainable development.
Prior to joining the ITU, Ursula worked with the UN Global Compact, the UN’s corporate sustainability initiative, as Chief, Social Sustainability, Governance and Legal, where she led legal affairs, and developed and led programming on social sustainability and governance issues, spearheading initiatives such as the Women’s Empowerment Principles, Children’s Rights and Business Principles, and Business for the Rule of Law.

Before joining the UN, Ursula worked for the OECD on its corporate responsibility initiative, for government human rights agencies, and for law firms in Australia and the US. She has Master of Laws degrees from Columbia University, where she was a Human Rights Fellow, and from Monash Law School, as well as Bachelor’s Degrees in Law (Hons), Economics, and Letters. She has been admitted to practice law in jurisdictions in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.