Speaker Information

Panel Discussion 1

Panelist

Asa Torkelsson

  • Chief, UNFPA Seoul Representation Office

Since May 2024, Asa Torkelsson has served as UNFPA Chief of the Seoul Representation Office in the Republic of Korea.

Asa is a sociologist and development economist with a career spanning more than 25 years in the multilateral system (FAO, IFAD, UN Women, UNFPA, World Bank), leveraging signature research, providing leadership and advice for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and serving at country, regional, and HQ levels with assignments across the world.

Since 2018, Asa has held leadership roles at UNFPA, first as Representative in Bangladesh and, from 2021, as UNFPA’s Representative in Malaysia and Country Director for Thailand.

She uses strategic foresight and interdisciplinary sensibilities to lead teams in expanding ICPD into new programming frontiers, managing complexity and change, activating strategic partnerships, and catalyzing innovation, thereby magnetizing resources and accelerating impact and scale.

Examples include brokering IFI/World Bank/government financing and positioning UNFPA in the humanitarian response in Bangladesh, scaling private sector partnerships, pioneering solutions and innovation such as digital life cycle innovation and South-South cooperation in Thailand, and introducing Islamic financing while advocating for expanding the nexus of reproductive and productive rights for all ages in Malaysia.

An architect of collaboration, she thrives on propelling joint purpose into action, harnessing individual talent for collective genius, and fostering collaborative and diverse workspaces. She is renowned for innovation and growth. Active as a UN mentor, she takes joy in mentoring and supporting especially young women leaders.

She has led multiple evidence-based, signature interagency initiatives and research projects, influencing new arenas and audiences across the development–humanitarian nexus and upper-middle-income country contexts, towards enhancing demographic resilience and sustainable, just solutions for the underserved.

In her role as the UNFPA Chief of the Seoul Representation Office, Asa Torkelsson works to strengthen partnerships with the Government of the Republic of Korea, civil society, academia, and the private sector, further advocating for inclusive policies and programs that empower individuals worldwide and promote sustainable development for all. She provides overall leadership to the KOICA–UNFPA Conflict and Fragility humanitarian program and advises on demographic resilience.

She recently took part in two APEC-related meetings in Seoul and Incheon, serving as a presenter at the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting Commemorative Symposium and as moderator for the 2025 APEC Women and the Economy Forum (WEF).

Asa holds a Ph.D. in Sociology, specializing in Economic Sociology, Rural Sociology, and Gender Studies, from Stockholm University, a master’s degree in development economics from the University of Gothenburg, and a bachelor’s degree in international social science from Stockholm University.

She is married and the mother of three.

View All Speakers