UN Women is the amalgamation of different United Nations bodies focused on women. It was created this year to look exclusively at the empowerment of women.

The agency will be headed by Chile's former president Michelle Bachelet and is expected to be fully operational in January 2011.

Regional representation rules required the board to have representatives from 10 African countries, 10 Asian countries, four Eastern European countries, six Latin American and Caribbean countries and five countries from Western Europe.

Saudi Arabia and Mexico ran uncontested for the two slots reserved for emerging donor nations.

The 41-member executive board also includes the US and Britain, which won seats in the donor nations category.

Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sweden, Angola and Tanzania were among the countries elected on Wednesday.