- Ibrahim Gambari
Dr. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari B.A., M.A., Ph.D, D.Hum.Litt., CFR (born on November 24, 1944 in Ilorin, Nigeria) is a Nigerian scholar and diplomat. He is current Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG) for Department of Political Affairs ("DPA"). He was appointed on June 10 2005 and assumed the post on July 1 of that year.
- Jan Egeland
Jan Egeland (born 1957 in Norway) was the United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator from June 2003 to December 2006. Egeland was appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and succeeded Kenzo Oshima. He traveled extensively, drawing attention to humanitarian emergencies. Egeland will take up the position as director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs on September 1, 2007.
- Louise Arbour
Louise Arbour is the current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a former judge of the Supreme Court of Canada. Born in Montreal to Bernard Arbour (deceased) and Rose Ravary, the owners of a hotel chain, she attended convent school, during which time her parents divorced. As editor of the school magazine, she earned a reputation for irreverence. In 1967, she graduated from College Regina Assumpta, …
- Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson was the first female President of Ireland, serving from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish senate (1969–1989). She defeated "Fianna Fáil's" Brian Lenihan and Fine Gael's Austin Currie in the 1990 presidential election becoming, as an Independent candidate nominated by the Labour Party, …
- Benon Sevan
Benon Vahe Sevan (born December 18, 1937 Nicosia, Cyprus) was the head of the United Nations' Oil-for-Food Programme, established in 1996 and charged with preventing Iraq's government from using the proceeds from oil exports for anything but food, medicine and other items to benefit the civilian population. Born into an Armenian family in Cyprus, Sevan was educated at the prestigious Melkonian Educational Institute in Nicosia.
- Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor , Former United Nations Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information, and Author, India: From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond
- Mohamed Elbaradei
Mohamed ElBaradei is an Egyptian diplomat and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an inter-governmental organization under the auspices of the United Nations. ElBaradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
- Stephen Lewis
Stephen Henry Lewis, C.C. (born November 11, 1937) is a Canadian politician, broadcaster and diplomat. He is currently Social Science Scholar-in-Residence at McMaster University, having recently completed his term as United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of former federal New Democratic Party leader David Lewis, he attended Harbord Collegiate Institute and the University of Toronto.
- Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Doctors of the World. He is currently the French minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the Fillon government.
- Achim Steiner
Achim Steiner (born 1961 in Brazil) is a German expert in environmental politics. From 2001 to 2006 he was Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Since June 2006 he is Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Steiner grew up in Brazil. He studied philosophy, political science and economics at the University of Oxford.
- Jan Pronk
Johannes "Jan" Pieter Pronk (born 16 March 1940 in Scheveningen, The Hague) is a Dutch politician and diplomat. He was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of Mission for the United Nations Mission in Sudan, a mandate that expired at the end of 2006. He is now a Professor of Theory and Practice of International Development at ISS, the Institute of Social Studies, at The Hague.
- Denis Halliday
Denis J. Halliday was born in Ireland and holds an M.A. in Economics, Geography and Public Administration from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Former United Nations Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Iraq (1997-1998). In 2000, Denis Halliday was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize with Kathy Kelly of Voices in the Wilderness, the campaign against sanctions on Iraq.
- Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah (born November 21, 1940), is a Mauritanian diplomat and United Nations official. Ould-Abdallah graduated from scondary school in Dakar, Senegal. He studied economics at the University of Grenoble and the University of Paris and political science at the Sorbonne and has held several cabinet-level posts in the Mauritanian government, including that of Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. He has also been Mauritania's ambassador to Belgium, …
- Ashraf Qazi
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi is the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, and a former senior Pakistani diplomat. He was appointed by UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on 14th of July, 2004. His predecessor, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, was killed in the Canal Hotel bombing on August 19, 2003. Prior to this current assignment, he was Pakistan's ambassador to the United States since September 2002.
- Peter Piot
Dr. Peter Piot is Under Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN specialized agency UNAIDS. In 2004, he was awarded the Vlerick Award. "From UNAIDS.org Bio:" <blockquote> Executive Director of UNAIDS since its creation in 1995 and Under Secretary-General of the United Nations, …
- Kemal Dervis
Kemal Derviş is a Turkish economist and politician. He was born on January 10, 1949 in Istanbul to a Turkish father and a German mother. As Minister for Economic Affairs in Turkey when Bülent Ecevit was prime minister, Derviş was the architect of Turkey 's successful three-year economic recovery program launched in 2001. Before being named to head the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), he was a member of the Turkish parliament, …
- Jeffrey Sachs
Mr. Sachs has advised governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia and Africa on economic reforms - and has worked with international agencies to promote poverty reduction, disease control and debt reduction of poor countries. Prior to joining Columbia, Mr. Sachs spent over 20 years at Harvard University, most recently as Director of the Center for International Development. He is the author of many scholarly articles and books.
- Ruud Lubbers
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers or Ruud Lubbers (born May 7, 1939) was prime minister of the Netherlands from 1982 - 1994. A political conservative, Lubbers was regarded by many during his time in office as an ideological heir to Margaret Thatcher; one of his campaign slogans was: "meer markt, minder overheid" (more market, less government). After that, he was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, from 2001 until February 20, 2005, …
- Asha-Rose Migiro
Asha-Rose Mtengeti Migiro (born July 9, 1956 in Songea, Ruvuma Region, Tanzania) is a Tanzanian lawyer and politician. On January 5, 2007, she was named as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. She was formally appointed and assumed office on February 5. She is married to Cleophas Migiro, and the couple has two daughters.
- Anna Tibaijuka
Dr Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). She is the highest ranking African woman in the UN System.
- Thant Myint-U
Thant Myint-U is an historian and a former United Nations official. He was born 31 January 1966 in New York city to Burmese parents and is the grandson of former UN Secretary-General U Thant. He was educated at Harvard, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and the University of Cambridge. He received his PhD in history from Cambridge University in 1996.
- Maurice Strong
Maurice F. Strong, (his first name is pronounced "Morris"), PC, CC, OM (born April 29, 1929, in Oak Lake, Manitoba) is an industrialist and public servant who was the Secretary-General of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), better known as the Earth Summit. Maurice Strong is currently in the People's Republic of China. Together with George Soros he is attempting to organize export of the Chery automobile.
- Razali Ismail
Tan Sri Razali Ismail (born April 14 1939 in the state of Kedah) is a distinguished Malaysian diplomat. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in literature and the humanities from Universiti Malaya and an Honorary Doctorate from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Razali Ismail first joined the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1962 and went on to become the Ministry's Deputy Secretary-General in 1985.
- Carol Bellamy
Carol Bellamy, president and CEO of World Learning, will deliver the commencement address at Vermont Law School’s 31st commencement ceremony. The public is invited to attend the ceremony, which will begin at 10:30 AM on the South Royalton town green. Bellamy also serves as president of the School for International Training.
- Thoraya Ahmed Obaid
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid is the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund. She is the first Saudi Arabian to head a United Nations agency.
- Nafis Sadik
Dr. Sadik's expertise is in the areas of reproductive health and family, population and development, women, and gender and development. Her contributions to improving the health of women and children of the global community have brought her numerous international awards and honors, and several honorary degrees.
- Peter Hansen
Peter Hansen (born June 2, 1941 in Aalborg), a Danish national, was Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from 1996-2005. After completing graduate and postgraduate studies in political science at Arhus University in 1966, he joined the staff of the University as an Assistant Professor in International Relations.
- Ann Veneman
Ann M. Veneman is first UNICEF Executive Director to visit Swaziland © UNICEF/HQ05-0695/Nesbitt UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman joins children at the Dvumbe Primary School, south-east of Mbabane, Swaziland.
- Alexander Yakovlev
Alexander Yakovlev was a long-serving tenured member of the United Nations procurement department (since 1985). He was involved in the oil-for-food scandal and had other allegations of impropriety. He is accused by the investigators of taking nearly $1 million in bribes, which also includes alleged illicit dealings with Compass Group PLC's subsidiary Eurest Support Services (ESS) and its terminated CEO Peter R. Harris and senior executive Andy Seiwert.
- Thorvald Stoltenberg
Thorvald Stoltenberg (born July 8, 1931) is a prominent Norwegian politician. He served as Minister of Defense (1979-81) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1987-1989 and 1990-1993) in two Labour governments. From 1989 to 1990 he was appointed Norwegian Ambassador to the UN. In 1990 he became the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, …
- Ahmed Djoghlaf
Ahmed Djoghlaf (born 25 November 1953 in Algiers).
- Gro Harlem Brundtland
(born April 20, 1939) is a Norwegian politician, diplomat, and physician, and an international leader in sustainable development and public health. She is a former Prime Minister of Norway, and has served as the Director General of the World Health Organization. She now serves as an Environmental Envoy of the United Nations.
- Thoraya Obaid
Mrs. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid is the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. Obaid is from Saudi Arabia. The United Nations Population Fund is the world’s largest multilateral source of population assistance. Mrs. Obaid was appointed to her position on 1 January 2001, with the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. She is the first Saudi Arabian to head a United Nations agency.
- Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan
Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, KBE (January 17, 1933 - May 12, 2003) served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1966 to 1978, during which he reoriented the agency's focus beyond Europe and prepared it for an explosion of complex refugee issues. He was also a proponent of greater collaboration between non-governmental organizations and UN agencies. The Prince's interest in ecological issues led him to establish the Bellerive Foundation in the late 1970s, …
- Karen Koning Abuzayd
Karen Koning AbuZayd has been a Commissioners-General for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East since June 28, 2005 appointed by Kofi Annan. She has been working as chief of mission for UNHCR in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war. Before joining to the UN, Ms. AbuZayd lectured in Political Science and Islamic Studies. She is married and has two children.
- Bertrand Ramcharan
Dr. Bertrand G. Ramcharan, from Guyana, a former United Nations (UN) official who once held functional diplomatic status, is Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Senior Fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies and currently Visiting Professor of International Law in Lund University, Sweden. Dr. Ramcharan is the first holder of the HEI Swiss Chair of Human Rights at the at the Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies.
- Nadia Younes
Nadia Younes (June 13, 1946 - August 19, 2003) was an Egyptian national who spent her entire career, for over 33 years, in the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization, rising to high-level posts in a variety of areas. She was born in Cairo, Egypt, and earned a Master of Arts degree in political science and international relations from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Cairo University.
- Mukesh Kapila
Dr. Mukesh Kapila is the Special Representative for HIV and AIDS of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). He was formerly a Director in the Department of Health Action in Crises of the World Health Organization. An employee of the government of the United Kingdom, he was on secondment to the United Nations. In 2003-2004 Kapila was the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, …
- Sérgio Vieira de Mello
Sérgio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian United Nations (UN) diplomat who worked for the UN for over 34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN. He was killed in the Canal Hotel Bombing in Iraq along with other 21 members of his staff, on the afternoon of August 19, 2003.
- Ad Melkert
Adrianus Petrus Wilhelmus (Ad) Melkert is a Dutch politician, who served as chair of the parliamentary party and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment for the social-democratic PvdA. He led the PvdA to a historic low in the contentious 2002 general elections, which were won by the CDA and the List Pim Fortuyn party. He currently serves as Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.