The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Ibrahim Thiaw, on Wednesday, July 22, 2020 announced the appointment of Tina Birmpili of Greece as the next Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNCCD.
Ms. Birmpili will assume the position on October 1, 2020. She is currently serving as the Executive Secretary of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. She will succeed Pradeep Monga of India to whom the Executive Secretary is grateful for his dedicated service to the UNCCD secretariat and the Global Mechanism.
According to the UNCCD, Ms. Birmpili brings to the position over 25 years of experience in policy analysis and implementation on sustainable development related issues and management at all levels of governance. She is a former Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change in Greece.
Prior to joining the Ozone Secretariat in 2013, she served as Ambassador of Greece to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in Paris. Throughout her career, which included assignments with the Athens Development Agency, the Open University of Greece and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in different capacities, she has been engaged in issues related to environment and sustainable development.
Ms. Birmpili holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and a Master of Science (MSc) in Environmental Management and Economics from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London.
