UN taps US agriculture official Luke Lindberg to lead World Food Programme

The United Nations has named Luke Lindberg, a senior official at the US Department of Agriculture, as the next executive director of the World Food Programme, the Rome-based agency that describes itself as the world's frontline responder to hunger in conflicts, crises and emergencies.

The appointment was announced jointly by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Qu Dongyu, after the WFP's board confirmed it backed the choice. Lindberg, 37, currently serves as the USDA's undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, a role he has held for just over a year. President Donald Trump nominated him for the WFP post.

He will succeed Cindy McCain, who stepped down in February after suffering a mild stroke in October 2025. Until Lindberg takes over, deputy executive director Carl Skau will continue as acting chief. Guterres and Qu thanked McCain for her leadership through what they called one of the most demanding periods in the programme's history, praising her as a steadfast voice for people affected by conflict, disaster and severe hunger, and for the staff serving them on the front lines.

Lindberg, a South Dakota native and the son-in-law of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, founded and led the South Dakota Trade Association, where he oversaw efforts to expand the state's exports. He also served as chief of staff and chief strategy officer at the US Export-Import Bank during the first Trump administration.

He takes charge as the WFP struggles to raise funds to feed tens of millions of people in need. The agency, which depends on donations, says as many as 266 million people face acute hunger, but it aims to reach only about 110 million this year because of funding cuts. The United States has long been the largest donor to the UN food agency, and the top job there has gone to an American since the early 1990s.