Haiyan Qian died on the morning of February 18, 2013 at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. after a heroic two-year battle with cancer. She was 57.

She was born on September 14, 1955 in Beijing, China, where she remained through her undergraduate studies before moving to the US. For the past 33 years, she dedicated her career to global public policy, governance, public administration, and development. Since she joined the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), she served as Chief Manager of the United Nations Public Administration Network and Chief of the e-Government Branch, before becoming the Director of the Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) on February 1, 2009. Prior to the United Nations, she worked for the Chinese Government in the area of science and technology and served in the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. She received her Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2005.

She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Saijin Zhang, her daughter, Nisi, her mother, Li Shuzheng, and her extended family. A funeral service will be held on February 26 at 9:30 a.m. at Ng Fook Funeral Services in New York, NY.