Achim Steiner

Azim Steiner, born on May 17, 1961, is an environmentalist with Brazilian and German ancestry. He is currently the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. Before joining the United Nations Development Programme, he was the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Director of Martin College in Oxford. He has also served as the Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams. He obtained a bachelor's degree from Worcester College, Oxford University, and a master's degree from the School of Asia and Africa, University of London, specializing in development economics, regional planning, international development, and environmental policy. He also studied at the German Development Institute and Harvard Business School. Steiner began working at the Rural Development Department of the German International Cooperation Agency in 1989. From 1991 to 1997, he worked at the International Union for Conservation of Nature in southern Africa and Washington. Before becoming the Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams, he also served as the Chief Technical Advisor of the Mekong River Commission. In 2001, he returned to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as its Director General. In 2006, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously elected Steiner as the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme for a four-year term, nominated by then Secretary General Kofi Annan. Later, at the proposal of Secretary General Ban Ki moon, his term was extended to 2016. After leaving the United Nations Environment Programme, Steiner was appointed as the Dean of Martin College in Oxford, and he took office in September 2016. In addition to his role at the University of Oxford, Steiner was also appointed as the Chairman's Special Envoy of the Disaster Migration Platform by the German government in October 2016. In April 2017, after consultation with the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme, Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Steiner to replace Helen Clark as the new Administrator.