New York,
23 April 2010 - At its 83rd plenary meeting,
on 22 April 2010, the General Assembly,
on the proposal of the Secretary-General,
re-elected Mr. Achim Steiner as Executive
Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme for a four-year term of office
beginning on 15 June 2010 and ending on
14 June 2014.
In nominating Mr. Steiner
for a second term as Executive Director
of UNEP, the Secretary-General acknowledged
the accomplishments of UNEP during his first
term and ensures that his leadership skills
will continue to serve Member States and
the United Nations at this critical juncture
in its search for a more sustainable development
path for all nations.
During his first term
as Executive Director of UNEP, Mr. Steiner
has been widely recognized for his leadership
in refocusing UNEP's work through a new
medium-term strategy and an ambitious reform
programme. As a result, UNEP's role and
visibility as the principal voice and resource
for the environment in the United Nations
system has grown significantly. This is
also reflected in the expanded number of
partnerships with United Nations agencies,
funds and programmes in the United Nations.
Mr. Steiner's commitment
to implementing the Bali Strategic Plan,
while continuing to strengthen UNEP's scientific
and normative capacity, has been widely
acknowledged by Member States. Their growing
confidence in UNEP is also reflected in
the significant increases in financial contributions
by Member States, which grew by over 40
per cent during his tenure.
Mr. Steiner's policy
and intellectual leadership have also enabled
UNEP to assume a dynamic and innovative
role in shaping the contemporary discourse
on development and sustainability. UNEP's
leadership in articulating the Green Economy
Agenda and the Global Green New Deal Concept
had an impact well beyond the traditional
arenas of environmental policy.
His professional track
record in the fields of sustainable development
policy and environmental management, his
first-hand knowledge of civil society, governmental
and international organizations, as well
as his global experience spanning five continents
make him an excellent choice to lead the
United Nations Environment Programme.
Mr. Steiner serves on
a number of international advisory boards,
including the China Council for International
Cooperation on Environment and Development
( CCICED ), the Centre for Environment and
Development in the Arab Region and Europe
( CEDARE ), the Global Public Policy Institute
( GPPI ), and the Institute for Global Environmental
Strategies ( IGES ).
In 1998, he was appointed
Secretary General of the World Commission
on Dams, based in South Africa - where he
managed a global review process and policy
dialogue on dams and development.
In 2001, he was appointed
Director General of the IUCN - the International
Union for Conservation of Nature - widely
regarded as one of the most influential
and highly respected organizations in the
field of conservation, environment and natural
resources management. As Chief Executive,
he held responsibility for the management
and oversight of 1,000 staff located in
42 countries, implementing the Union's global
work programme.
His professional career
has included assignments with governmental
and non-governmental, as well as international
organizations in different parts of the
world. In Washington, where he was Senior
Policy Advisor of the International Union
for Conservation of Nature's Global Policy
Unit, he led the development of new partnerships
between the environment community and the
World Bank and United Nations system. In
Southeast Asia, he worked as Chief Technical
Advisor of the Mekong River Commission/GTZ
on a programme for sustainable management
of Mekong River watersheds and community-based
natural resources management.
Mr. Steiner obtained
a Bachelor of Arts from the University of
Oxford, as well as a Master of Arts from
the University of London, with specialization
in development economics, regional planning,
and international development policy. He
also studied at the German Development Institute
in Berlin, as well as the Harvard Business
School.
Mr. Steiner, a German
and Brazilian national, was born in Brazil
in 1961.
