McCain is the next U.S. conservative tapped to lead World Food Program

The United Nations has chosen Cindy McCain to serve as its next leader for the World Food Program in Rome, marking the sixth time in a row that an American has been picked for the job over the past three decades.

The accolades for McCain, who has served as the U.S. ambassador to WFP, the Food and Agriculture Organization and other U.N. agencies in Rome since Nov. 2021, poured in Thursday for her humanitarian work.

"WFP has never been more important as hunger is spreading across continents," said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and a veteran of numerous top U.N. and Norwegian diplomatic roles, in congratulating McCain on her appointment. "We look forward to working closely together with WFP under new leadership."

Like the man she will replace, WFP Executive Director David Beasley, a former governor of South Carolina, McCain comes from a wing of the pre-Trump Republican Party that was particularly prominent from the 1980s to the 2000s, and was grounded mainly in religious and conservative values.

And McCain, like Beasley to some degree, represents a seemingly bygone era of American bipartisanship. She is both a close political ally of Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden and the widow of U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee.

Though neutrality is a core principle in WFP's work, her political experience and ability to get along with U.S. politicians in both parties could prove crucial in her work. The United States provided slightly more than half of WFP's nearly $14.2 billion of contributions in 2022.

McCain is "an exceptionally qualified leader who has dedicated her life to improving the lives of those less fortunate in the United States and around the world," said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the committee's highest-ranking Democrat.

"At a time when food insecurity and fuel costs are at an all-time high and there is soaring global hunger, the task of leading the World Food Program is more significant and consequential than ever," they said. "We are confident Ambassador McCain will continue the legacy of entrusting a qualified American candidate to lead those on the frontlines of tackling hunger, with the task of consolidating WFP’s recent growth to improve transparency, fiscal responsibility, and physical and emotional safety of employees.”

'Most serious food security crisis in modern history'

McCain, who was appointed to the position by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General QU Dongyu, will succeed Beasley on April 4 when his six-year term ends.

She described herself as "deeply honored" to take the helm of the world’s largest humanitarian organization, which says its mission is to save lives in emergencies and use food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and climate impacts.

"WFP has been a part of my life for decades," she said. "I am ready to roll up my sleeves and spend time both in Rome and in the field, deepening my understanding of WFP’s vital work, and making sure it continues to grow to meet the needs of a hungry world."

"The road ahead is daunting, and hunger is on the rise," she added. "However, I’m sure of one thing – when we come together as one world, we can save lives."

She formerly chaired the board of trustees of Arizona State University's McCain Institute for International Leadership and served on the boards of directors for Project C.U.R.E., CARE, Operation Smile, the Halo Trust and the advisory boards of Too Small To Fail and Warriors and Quiet Waters.

WFP's Executive Board stressed that she is taking charge at a time of increasing conflicts, climate shocks and economic turmoil that have led to "a sharp rise in the number of acutely food-insecure people struggling to get enough food to feed their families – up almost 200 million since before the coronavirus pandemic.

WFP has provided more than 158 million people with food, cash and vouchers in 2022, more than in any previous year, and received a record US$14 billion in funding, the board said, noting WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

“McCain takes over as head of the World Food Program at a moment when the world confronts the most serious food security crisis in modern history and this leadership role has never been more important," said Polish Ambassador Artur Andrzej Pollok, president of WFP's Executive Board. "We wish her well and can assure her she will have the full support of the Executive Board.”