Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has taken on a new position within the United Nations. In New York, she was appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s Special
Advocate for Financial Health, succeeding her previous role as Special Advocate for Inclusive Financing for Development, a position she held for 15 years.
“In a world marked by economic uncertainty, conflict, and climate change, financial services are essential for empowering individuals to take control of their lives and futures,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres during her appointment. “As Special Advocate for Financial Health, Her Majesty Queen Maxima will continue her important work to ensure that financial systems can support the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of people worldwide.”
Maxima’s new role builds upon her prior work, where she and her partners significantly increased global access to basic financial services. Currently, nearly 80 percent of adults worldwide have at least one bank account. Maxima described this progress as "a solid foundation" but emphasized that mere access to financial services does not guarantee personal development or financial well-being.
“We now aim to ensure that people can utilize financial products and services to manage their daily income and expenses, invest responsibly in businesses, save for long-term goals, protect themselves against setbacks such as job loss or the effects of climate change, and have confidence in their financial future,” Maxima explained. “These four elements together define financial health.”
She also acknowledged that there is much work ahead. “The job is never truly finished, and as long as I continue to draw energy from this work, I will keep doing it,” the Queen added. Photo by www.GlynLowe.com, Wikimedia commons.