Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has been confirmed as the new head of the United Nations' Development Programme.
Clark was nominated to the job by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week and it was approved by the UN General Assembly this morning (NZT).
Miss Clark, prime minister from 1999 to 2008, is due to start her new job in New York on April 20.
"I'll be spinning wheels to make that," Miss Clark told Radio New Zealand.
The position is the third highest in the UN, behind the secretary-general and his deputy.
She gained unanimous approval from the 192-nation General Assembly. The UNDP oversees a global development network with an estimated $US13 billion ($NZ23.12 billion) in resources. It operates in 166 nations.
Miss Clark will replace Kemal Dervis, a former Turkish Cabinet Minister.
Ban's spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said Miss Clark "will bring a strategic perspective coupled with fresh thinking and impetus for change."
NZPA
Watch Duncan Garner's full interview with Helen Clark here.