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Current position: Vice-Minister of Environment Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Place of birth: Kyzyl-Orda region, pos. Chiili

Languages:

• Kazakh, Russian
Education, license:
• Kazakh State University after SM Kirov (1979), Biologist, chemist

Educational background:

• PhD in Biology, thesis: "Physical and chemical properties of soluble and immobilized peroxidase wormwood" (1985)

Work experience:

• Senior researcher at the Institute of Botany, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan (1979-1989);
• Chairman of the National Council of Young Scientists and Specialists (1986-1989);
• President of the Alliance of Small Enterprises "Kenes" (1989-1992);
• Chairman of the All-Union Council of Young Scientists and Specialists (1991-1992);
• Vice-President, the First Vice-President of the Congress of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan (1991-1996);
• Deputy Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the support and development of entrepreneurship (1994-1996);
• Chairman of the Board "Soros - Kazakhstan" (1996-1998);
• Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan (1997-2001);
• Chairman of the Committee on Public Procurement of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ministry of Finance (2001-2002);
• Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Government Procurement (2002-2003);
• State Inspector organizational control department of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2003-2004);
• First Deputy General Director of the International Institute of Contemporary Politics (2004-2005);
• The Director-General of the International Institute of Contemporary Politics (2005-2007);
• Deputy Chairman of the Board of "Nurbank" (2007);
• The Executive Director of the Fund of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2008-2012);
• The Director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Foundation of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2012-2013);
• Vice-minister of Environment of the Republic of Kazakhstan (since March 2013)

Other positions:

• President of the Congress of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan (since 1996);
• Member of the Board of Directors of JSC "Eximbank Kazakhstan" (2000-2004);
• Member of the Board of Directors of JSC "Entrepreneurship Development Fund" (2002-2003);
• Member of the Board of Directors of "Nurbank" (2007-2010);
• Member of the Board of Directors of JSC "Commercial television channel" (from 2007)
• People's Deputy of the USSR from the Young Communist League, a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Committee for Youth Policy, a member of the Council of Republics of the USSR Supreme Soviet (1989-1991);
• Candidate for the Supreme Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan the 13th Legislature (1994)

Publications:

• The author of the books: "The development of entrepreneurship in transition economies: progress and achievements" (1999),
• "Business consulting and information services, as an affective tool for SME development" (2001),
• "Status of the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises in Kazakhstan in 1998 -2000, the "(2001) Sources of funding "(2002, co-authored).
• More than 35 additional publications and has been accorded 6 patents

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Mr. Paolo Soprano is Director of Sustainable Development and NGOs Division at the Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea of Italy.

Born in Rome, Italy in 1950, Mr. Paolo Soprano is a career government official. He has been with the Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea of Italy since 1988. Since 2000, he is Director of Sustainable Development Division.

He served previously in the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (1978-1988), and in the University of Rome “La Sapienza” as researcher on Human and Economic Geography (1975-1978). In his current position he is in charge of International/Global multilateral processes and negotiations on Sustainable Development within the UN, the UN-ECE, and the European Union.

He is the representative of Italy in the EU Council Working Party on International Environmental Issues, head of delegation of Italy to UN-CSD and to UNEP Governing Council, and coordinator for international activities within the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

He has participated in the UN Commission on Sustainable Development since its first session in 1993, as well as in the Johannesburg WSSD Preparatory Process.

In 2009 he is has been a co-chair of the high-level meeting of the UNEP-IEG Consultative Group.

He is a delegate of Italy in the OECD Environment Policy Committee and vice-chair of the OECD Working Party on Global and Structural Policies. He served as EPOC vice-chair in 2003-2006.

In 2010 he was elected Vice-chair of the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, representing the West European and Others Group.

At the national level, he is in charge of programs and projects for sustainable development and implementation of Agenda 21; implementation and update of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development; promotion of local programs and projects for sustainable development; State-Regions co-operation for sustainable development.

Mr. Soprano is editor of the Minister's Report on the State of Environment to the Parliament since 1989 and responsible for environmental reporting; coordinator for environmental accounting, environmental indicators and sustainable development indicators.

He graduated from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” with an Honors B.A.

He is married and has two sons.

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Bosiljka Vukovic has been working in the area of sustainable development since 2007. She is currently the Head of the Division for the Support to the National Council for Sustainable Development at the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism. She was previously the Acting Head of the Office for Sustainable Development, a body in charge of cross-sectoral coordination of the national strategic and long-term development policies.

Ms. Vukovic serves as a Secretary of the National Council for Sustainable Development, a multi-stakeholder advisory body of the Government of Montenegro on the issues of sustainable development, chaired by the Prime Minister. She was the national focal point for the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) since 2008 and was in charge of the national preparations for the Third World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

Currently, she is the in-country focal point for the preparations of Montenegro’s participation in the UN Open Working Group for the development of the Sustainable Development Goals as well as coordinating the process of the revision of the key strategic document for the sustainable development of Montenegro – the National Strategy for Sustainable Development. She is also a member of the European Sustainable Development Network. Ms. Vukovic has been very actively involved in the UN and the EU sustainable development processes.

The Commission at its twentieth session elected, by acclamation, Mr. Miloš Nikoliæ (Montenegro) to continue with the unexpired term of Ms. Bosiljka Vukovic (Montenegro)