Biographical Note

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS THOMAS STELZER OF AUSTRIA ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL

FOR POLICY COORDINATION AND INTER-AGENCY AFFAIRS

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Thomas Stelzer of Austria as the new Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, succeeding Patrizio Civili.

Since August 2001, Ambassador Stelzer has been serving as Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations ( Vienna), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Preparatory Commission.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Stelzer held a number of diplomatic and international posts, including Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, Deputy Director of the Austrian Cultural Institute in New York, and Minister-Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in New York.  He was the Austrian Delegate to the Committee for Disarmament and International Security (First Committee) of the General Assembly and Representative to the governing bodies of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Mr. Stelzer was President of the UNIDO Industrial Development Board (2005-2006), Chair of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission (2003) and Facilitator and Chair of the Vienna Terrorism Symposiums in 2002 and 2007.  Most recently, he served as a Vice-Chair of the Second Conference of States Parties of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which he had also co-negotiated.

His academic pursuits have included services as lecturer on multilateralism at the Department of Political Science at Vienna University.  Since 1999, Mr. Stelzer has been serving as President of Klangforum Wien, a leading ensemble for contemporary classical music.

Mr. Stelzer obtained his doctorate in law from Vienna University, a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from Stanford University, and a diploma in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna Center.  He was born on 19 June 1955.

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