Annika Silva-Leander
Dr Annika Silva-Leander is Head of Strategic Initiatives and UN Permanent Observer at International IDEA. In this role she represents International IDEA at the UN General Assembly as a leading voice and advocate on democracy. In her UN role, she leads International IDEA’s UN democracy advocacy and research, coordinates engagement with the UN system, produces policy analysis and data on the links between democracy, sustainable development, and the UN’s other pillars, and oversees the UN & Democracy Hub. She also leads the SDG 16 Data Initiative, a consortium of 18 non-governmental organizations that produce non-official data and annual reports that track progress on SDG 16. She also oversees the coordination of the Global Democracy Coalition, a coalition of 180+ democracy organizations and centers worldwide, whose Secretariat is hosted by International IDEA.
In her role as Head of North America (2021–2026), Annika established and led IDEA’s first Washington, DC office, alongside its New York UN office, and managed outreach and partnerships in the region, including engagement with U.S. and Canadian government stakeholders and collaboration with civil society, think tanks, and academic institutions. Between 2018 and 2021, Silva-Leander was the Head of the Democracy Assessment Unit in Stockholm, where she led International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy report, as lead author, editor and Programme head. She also oversaw the production of the annually updated Global State of Democracy Indices and the implementation of the Covid-19 Global Monitor on Democracy and Human Rights. From 2015 to 2018, she worked as the Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General of International IDEA.
Prior to joining International IDEA, Silva-Leander worked for 10 years as a Social Development Specialist at the World Bank, on civic engagement and poverty reduction in Asia, Latin America and Africa. During her nine years in Asia (Indonesia and Cambodia), she worked for the World Bank, UNICEF and UNDP. She started her career at the AVINA Foundation in Costa Rica, managing grants to civil society organizations in Latin America.
As a scholar and opinion-builder on democratic governance, Annika contributes to the global democracy debate through her analysis and speaking engagements on the nexus between democratic governance and development, the state of democracy globally, US democracy in a global comparative perspective, and the democracy agenda in the context of the UN and other global fora of relevance to the global democracy discussions.
Annika Silva-Leander is a member of the Advisory Board for Georgetown University’s Department of Government MA Programs (American Government, Conflict Resolution, and Democracy & Governance).
She holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is a Swedish-Chilean global citizen who grew up in France.
Mentions in UN coverage and press releases:
