UNITED NATIONS - UN Women's chief Michelle Bachelet has decided to step down, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon confirmed in a statement issued here late Friday.

"Ms Michelle Bachelet has informed me of her intention to step down as executive director of UN Women," Ban said in the statement issued by his spokesman.

Bachelet, a former Chilean president, is the first UN under-secretary-general and executive director of UN Women, which was established on July 2, 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly.

Bachelet, who was born in Santiago on September 29, 1951, is a pediatrician and public health expert.