The Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Moussa Batraki has announced the appointment of Katalaina Sapolu of Samoa, as Assistant Secretary-General for Global Operations.
Sapolu brings to the position more than 15 years of senior leadership experience at the international and national levels, with a strong record in operational oversight, institutional reform, financial governance and accountability.
Her experience spans finance, budgeting, human resources, procurement, information technology, conferences, protocol and facilities management, as well as senior-level engagement in complex multilateral environments.
She most recently served as Ombudsman and Head of the National Human Rights Institution of Samoa.
Prior to that, she held senior positions at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, including as Senior Director, Governance and Peace Directorate, Officer-in-Charge for Operations, and Director, Rule of Law Division. Earlier, she served as Chief Legal Counsel of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States in Brussels, where she advised on legal, institutional and governance matters, bringing to the role a strong legal background alongside her operational and managerial experience.
Sapolu practised law in Samoa and New Zealand before joining international service. She holds a Master of Laws in Public International Law from Queen Mary, University of London, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Auckland, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Newcastle, Australia.
