David Beasley

David Beasley is an American politician and the former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term as the 113th Governor of South Carolina from 1995 until 1999 before losing reelection to Democrat Jim Hodges. He also served as a state representative from 1981 until 1995.

In February 2017, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (also a former South Carolina governor) nominated Beasley to be the next Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP). United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization José Graziano da Silva officially appointed Beasley to the post in March 2017, saying he brought "extensive experience with key governmental and business leaders and stakeholders around the world, with very strong resource mobilisation skills." Guterres also said Beasley had been among 23 applications/nominations for the position.

In his capacity as Executive Director of WFP, Beasley served at the level of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and was a member of the organization's Senior Management Group (SMG) under Guterres. Since 2019, he has been a member of the World Economic Forum High-Level Group on Humanitarian Investing, co-chaired by Børge Brende, Kristalina Georgieva and Peter Maurer.

In December 2020, Beasley accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the WFP for its efforts to combat world hunger.

As the term of the director of the World Food Programme is five years, Beasley's term was originally set to expire in April of 2022. However, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres extended Beasley's term, citing the current food crisis of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the COVID-19 pandemic. President Biden initially opposed extending Beasley's term, but bipartisan support in Congress encouraged Biden to support the extension. Beasley's term as executive director expired in April 2023.