Director-General, World Health Organization

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected WHO Director-General for a five-year term by WHO Member States at the Seventieth World Health Assembly in May 2017. In doing so, he was the first WHO Director-General elected from among multiple candidates by the World Health Assembly, and was the first person from the WHO African Region to head the world’s leading public health agency.

Born in the Eritrean city of Asmara, Dr Tedros graduated from the University of Asmara with a Bachelor of Biology, before earning a Master of Science (MSc) in Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the University of London, a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Community Health from the University of Nottingham and an Honorary Fellowship from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Following his studies, Dr Tedros returned to Ethiopia to support the delivery of health services, first working as a field-level malariologist, before heading a regional health service and later serving in Ethiopia’s federal government for over a decade as Minister of Health and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

As Minister of Health from 2005 to 2012, he led a comprehensive reform of the country’s health system, built on the foundation of universal health coverage and provision of services to all people, even in the most remote areas.

Under his leadership, Ethiopia expanded its health infrastructure, developed innovative health financing mechanisms, and expanded its health workforce. A major component of reforms he drove was the creation of a primary health care extension programme that deployed 40 000 female health workers throughout the country. A significant result was an approximate 60% reduction in child and maternal mortality compared to 2000 levels.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2016, he elevated health as a political issue nationally, regionally and globally. In this role, he led efforts to negotiate the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, in which 193 countries committed to the financing necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Prior to his election as Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros held many leadership positions in global health, including as Chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and Co-chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Board.

After taking office as WHO Director-General on 1 July 2017, Dr Tedros initiated the most significant transformation in the Organization’s history, which has generated a wide range of achievements.

DPR of Mexico Mission, Vice President of ECOSOC and Former Co-Chair of the STI Forum

Ambassador Juan Sandoval-Mendiolea has been Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations since February 2015. He was appointed co/chair of the Science Technology and Innovation Forum by the President of ECOIOC in December 2017. He was a co-chair with Japan for the 2018 STI Forum. Prior to this assignment, he served as Director General for United Nations Affairs. In this capacity, he was promoted to the rank of Ambassador of Mexico in October 2014.

Ambassador Sandoval served as Legal and Human Rights Counselor at the Mexican Embassy in France, and as Deputy and Interim Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) from 2001 until 2006, where he oversaw legal issues and hemispheric security, including drug enforcement, transnational organized crime, terrorism and corruption. In the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he has also been Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Inter-American Regional Organisms and Mechanisms (2006-2007), and during this time he also served as Deputy National Organizer of Summits. He was Director of Cabinet of the Under-Secretary of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights from 2007 until 2013. He led the process for Mexico’s admission to the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Australia Group and the Nuclear Supplier's Group.

President of Senegal

Macky Sall was born on 11 December 1961 in Fatick, Senegal.

He studied at the University of Dakar, trained at the Institute of Earth Sciences (IST) in Dakar and graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs (ENSPM) of the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) in Paris.


Political and administrative career

-Late 1980s: member of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS)
-December 2000 to July 2001: General Manager of the Société des Pétroles du Sénégal (PETROSEN) after several years as Head of the Data Bank Division and Special Advisor to the President of the Republic, in charge of Energy and Mines
-May 2001 to November 2002: Minister of Mines, Energy and Hydraulics
-November 2002 to August 2003: Minister of State, Minister of Mines, Energy and Hydraulics
-August 2003 to April 2004: Minister of State, Minister of the Interior and Local Authorities, Government Spokesperson.
-April 2004: Vice-President of the PDS steering committee
-21 April 2004 to 19 June 2007: Prime Minister
-20 June 2007 to 9 November 2008: President of the National Assembly
2008.
-1st December 2008: creation of his political party, Alliance Pour la République (APR)
-25 March 2012: elected President of the Republic
-24 February 2019: re-elected President of the Republic


Awards and distinctions

Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion
Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour
Grand Officer of the Ordre de la Pléiade de la Francophonie
Grand Cross of the Order of the State of Palestine
Dr Honoris Causa University of Abomey Calvy, Benin
Dr Honoris Causa Swiss University UMEF Geneva, Switzerland
Dr Honoris Causa, Pukyong University Busan, Republic of Korea
Dr Honoris Causa Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, (CNAM) France
Honorary Member of the French Academy of Overseas Sciences
Medal of Saint George, Prize for Peace and Dialogue between Peoples

President of Economic and Social Council

His Excellency Munir Akram was elected seventy-sixth President of the Economic and Social Council on 23 July 2020. Ambassador Akram is currently the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York. Ambassador Akram assumed his position as Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, on November 1, 2019.

Ambassador Munir Akram previously served as Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York for six years between 2002 and 2008, after serving as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva for seven years from 1995 to 2002.

Between 1988 and 1992, Munir Akram was Pakistan’s Ambassador to the European Council, Belgium and Luxemburg.

During his term at the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram served twice as President of the Security Council in May 2003 and in May 2004; President of the Economic and Social Council in 2005; Chairman of the Group of 77 and China (developing countries) in 2007, and Facilitator on UN Administrative Reform in 2006.

Among the positions he held in various intergovernmental organizations were: Member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament; Chairman of the WTO Trade Policy Review Body; President of the Conference on Disarmament (June 1996).

Ambassador Akram joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1967, holding various positions in the Foreign Ministry as Additional Foreign Secretary and Director-General dealing with the United Nations.

He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Karachi. He is a prolific writer and has lectured and published several articles and papers on various strategic, political and economic issues.

In recognition of his selfless service and outstanding performance in the field of diplomacy and foreign policy, he was conferred the Award of Hilal-i-Quaid-e-Azam by the President of Pakistan.

Professor in Economics and the College and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, Founding Director of the Development Innovation Lab at the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics, Nobel Laureate 2019

Michael Kremer is Director of the Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago, and University Professor in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics. His recent research examines health, water, and agriculture in developing countries.

Professor Kremer is the recipient of the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, awarded jointly with Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty." He is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

Kristalina Georgieva is the Managing Director of the IMF since October 1, 2019.

She was CEO of the World Bank from January 2017 to September 2019, during which time she also served as Interim President for three months.

Previously, Ms. Georgieva served as European Commission Vice President for Budget and Human Resources and as Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

From 1993 to 2010, she held a number of senior positions at the World Bank, including as Vice President and Corporate Secretary in 2008, and as Director for Sustainable Development, Director for the Russian Federation (based in Moscow), Director for Environment, and Director for Environment and Social Development for the East Asia and Pacific Region.

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, she holds a Ph.D. in Economic Science and a M.A. in Political Economy and Sociology from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, where she was an Associate Professor between 1977 and 1993. She also was visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Director-General of the World Trade Organization

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the seventh Director-General of the WTO. She took office on 1 March 2021, becoming the first woman and the first African to serve as Director-General. Her term of office will expire on 31 August 2025.

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a global finance expert, an economist and international development professional with over 30 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. Dr Okonjo-Iweala was formerly Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Since its creation in 2000, She was recently appointed as African Union (AU) Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. She is a skilled negotiator and has brokered numerous agreements which have produced win-win outcomes in negotiations. She is regarded as an effective consensus builder and an honest broker enjoying the trust and confidence of governments and other stakeholders.

Previously, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala twice served as Nigeria's Finance Minister (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and briefly acted as Foreign Minister in 2006, the first woman to hold both positions. She distinguished herself by carrying out major reforms which improved the effectiveness of these two Ministries and the functioning of the government machinery. She had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the No. 2 position of Managing Director, Operations. As a development economist and Finance Minister, Dr Okonjo-Iweala steered her country through various reforms ranging from macroeconomic to trade, financial and real sector issues.

As Minister of Finance in Nigeria, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors that led to the wiping out of $30 billion of Nigeria's debt, including the outright cancellation of $18 billion. In her second term as Finance Minister, Dr Okonjo-Iweala was responsible for leading reform that enhanced transparency of government accounts and strengthened institutions against corruption, including the implementation of the GIFMS (Government Integrated Financial Management System), the IPPMS (Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management System), and the TSA (Treasury Single Accounts).
Previously, she was also a Senior Adviser at Lazard (2015-2019) and she served as the co-Chair of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation with UK Secretary Justine Greening, and Chair of the World Bank's Development Committee (2004). She was also a member of the International Monetary and Finance Committee of the IMF (2003-2006 and 2011-2015), the United Nations' Secretary General's High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Danish Government-led Commission on Africa, the World Economic Forum Global Leadership Council on Transparency and Corruption, and the Commission on World Growth (led by Nobel Prize winner Professor Michael Spence). She served for a decade on the Rockefeller Foundation Board and the World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders. Dr Okonjo-Iweala has also served on the advisory board of the ONE Campaign, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Global Development Network, and the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala is the founder of Nigeria's first ever indigenous opinion-research organization, NOI-Polls. She also founded the Center for the Study of Economies of Africa (C-SEA), a development research think tank based in Abuja, Nigeria. She is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development, and also at the Brookings Institution, premier Washington D.C. think tanks.