Dr. Najat Zarrouk is the Director of the African Local Government Academy (ALGA) of UCLG-Africa), the Vice-Chairperson of the African Public Service-Human Resource Managers Network (APS-HRMNet) and Member of the Board of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration(AISIA). She has 39 years of experience in the Public Service at national, continental and global levels, in particular as a former Civil servant in the Ministry of the Interior of Morocco and Member of the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA). Author of many essays and articles on issues related to public administration, and several official documents for the UN, she received many national and international recognitions, namely: The National Order of Merit - Exceptional Degree (Meritorious Service Award) by His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco (2013); the UN Public Service Award (UNPSA), First Place in Africa (2013), the OP DWIVEDI Award from AISIA (2015), and the Gold Medal 2018 from the African Association for Public Administration and Management.