Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs and Secretary of the Chief Executives Board (CEB), will leave his post on 30 June to assume his new position as Austrian Ambassador to Portugal.
Thomas Stelzer joined the United Nations in March of 2008. His first challenge upon assuming his post was the Global Food Crisis, to which the CEB responded by establishing the High Level Task Force on Food Security. Throughout eleven CEB Sessions, Thomas Stelzer supported the Secretary-General in UN system-wide coordination efforts. The Economic and Financial Crisis of 2008, the 2010 MDG Summit, Climate Change, Sustainable Energy, Rio+20 and the post-2015 Development Agenda were among the CEB core issues. In preparing for the High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development, the CEB was able to bring the Global System together on an important emerging issue in identifying, together with the GMG, recommendations and outcomes. Accelerating MDG implementation will be key to the CEB agenda until 2015.
Within DESA, Thomas Stelzer supported two successive USGs on strategic, political and management issues. He coordinated political processes and many DESA contributions to UN system-wide activities. He was the focal point for MDGs and coordinated the Secretary-General’s MDG Advocates Group. As Chair of the UN MDG Task Team, he led preparations for the 2010 MDG Summit, an enormous multi-stakeholder success. In addition to supporting the inter-governmental processes, Thomas Stelzer pro-actively engaged a wide array of stakeholders, working with them on their contributions towards the MDGs and linking them to UN activities. He participated in multitudinous Conferences, many times as key-note speaker, supporting inter-governmental processes, civil society activities, academia, and the UN relations with the private sector. He contributed to many aspects of the sustainable development agenda, like water, food security, sustainable energy, migration, forests, social inclusion and economic opportunities. He represented the Secretary-General in numerous conferences, like the Global Forum on Migration and Development, Global Social Business Summit as well as the yearly Global Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates. He remains passionate about the United Nations and will continue to support the Secretary-General in advocating UN issues, principles, strategies and actions.
Comings
The following staff member was promoted in June:
Grigor Agabekian, Economic Affairs Officer, Development Policy and Analysis Division
