H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands became the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA) in September 2024. As the UNSGSA, she focuses on promoting the financial health of individuals and communities globally. Her efforts are aimed at ensuring people not only have access to financial services, but can use them to manage their day-to-day expenses, withstand economic shocks, achieve their future goals, and feel secure and in control of their finances.

This is what the UNSGSA calls “financial health”. Queen Máxima’s role involves raising awareness and fostering dialogue among stakeholders to prioritize financial health in policy and practice. She collaborates closely with partners from the public and private sectors to design and implement strategies that put the needs of financial customers at the center and improve financial health outcomes, always with an eye toward responsible and inclusive growth and a stable financial system.

Previously, as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (2009–2024), Queen Máxima played a pivotal role in advancing universal access to financial services. This includes notable progress on global account ownership, which increased from 51% in 2011 to 76% in 2021 (Global Findex). As the Special Advocate for Financial Health, her work will build on this foundation, shifting focus from financial access to the power of high-quality and useful financial services to enhance financial resilience and prosperity.

Queen Máxima continues her patronage of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI). In the Netherlands, financial health is also an important theme in her work as Honorary Chair of the Debt Lab, the National Financial Health Coalition, and the Money Wise Platform. As a member of the Netherlands Committee for Enterprise, Queen Máxima works to strengthen the growth potential of small and medium enterprises.