Achim Steiner
Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Steiner brings to the position of Administrator of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) extensive senior leadership experience, both at the grass-roots and highest levels of international policymaking addressing environmental sustainability, social equity and economic development. His professional experience includes assignments with governmental, non-governmental, as well as international organizations around the world, most recently Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme between 2006 and 2016.
He previously served as Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi from 2009 to 2011, Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature from 2001 to 2006, and as Secretary-General of the World Commission on Dams, in South Africa, from 1998 to 2001.
Born in 1961, Steiner’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford, as well as a Master of Arts degree from the University of London, with specialization in development economics, regional planning and international development and environment policy. He also studied at the German Development Institute in Berlin, and at Harvard Business School.
