SG/A/877
AFR/974
BIO/3577
22 June 2004
Biographical Note
Secretary-General Appoints Jan Pronk Special Representative for Sudan
NEW YORK, 21 June (UN Headquarters) -- The Secretary-General has decided to appoint Jan Pronk as his Special Representative for the Sudan and head of the peace support operation that may be authorized following a Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of the Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army. The appointment is effective 18 June 2004.
Mr. Pronk has led a distinguished career, both as a prominent European politician and as a senior United Nations official. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Pronk served as the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002, and was formerly Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1980 to 1985, and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1985 to 1986.
Throughout his career, Mr. Pronk has played a prominent role in promoting sustainable economic and environmental development. He served three times as Minister for Development Cooperation in the Government of the Netherlands, and, more recently, as Minister of the Environment. He was President of the United Nations Conference of Parties of the Convention on Climate Change (CoP 6) held in The Hague in November 2000 and Bonn in July 2001. In November 2002 he became the Chair of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and, in December 2003, he became Chair of the Geneva-based Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC).
Mr. Pronk has also been Treasurer of the Brandt Commission. He is currently Professor in Theory and Practice of International Development at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague.
Mr. Pronk was born on 16 March 1940. He is married and has a son and a daughter.
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