Diplomatic Staff

H.E. Ambassador Chola Milambo, PhD

Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations

Ambassador Chola Milambo is the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations. He is an economist and diplomat with over three decades of experience in macroeconomic management, development finance, and multilateral cooperation.

He has played a leading role in major intergovernmental processes, including as Co-Facilitator of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), where he helped negotiate the outcome document Compromiso de Sevilla, and as Co-Facilitator of the Global Digital Compact, which led to the adoption of the first global framework for digital cooperation and artificial intelligence governance in 2024. He also served as Vice-President of the United Nations General Assembly from 2023 to 2024.

Ambassador Milambo is Vice-President (Africa) of the Boards of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS, and an Alternate Member of the OECD DAC Advisory Partner Group representing Least Developed Countries. He also serves as Co-Chair of the 2026 UN Science, Technology and Innovation Forum for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Prior to his diplomatic appointment, Ambassador Milambo served at the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, including as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director for Africa Group 1 and as Board Operations Officer. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at the Bank of Zambia and the Zambia Revenue Authority, and taught economics at the University of Zambia and Howard University.

Ambassador Milambo holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Howard University, a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Zambia. He is a Fulbright Scholar.