Melanie Verwoerd (born Fourie) pronounced [fɛr'vurt](18 April 1967, in Pretoria) is a South African political analyst. She was previously a politician, ambassador, and the director of UNICEF Ireland. Verwoerd was elected as a Member of Parliament for the African National Congress (ANC) during the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, and re-elected in 1999. In 2001, she was appointed as the South African Ambassador to Ireland, a position she held until 2005. Between 2007 and 2011 she was the Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland. In 2007, Verwoerd was awarded with the Irish Tatler International Woman of the Year award.