5 August 2013 – New York/Nairobi -  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ibrahim Thiaw (Mauritania) as Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Thiaw succeeds Amina Mohamed (Kenya) in the post. According to the UN, Thiaw has over 30 years of experience working in the fields of environment and sustainable development. He joins UNEP amid the “1,000 days of action” to reach the targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the 2015 deadline.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania as Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Mr. Thiaw succeeds Amina Mohamed of Kenya as Assistant Secretary-General and UNEP Deputy Executive Director.
"Mr. Thiaw's professional career spans the full spectrum of practical work at national and regional levels to leading global programmes and experience of United Nations inter-agency and intergovernmental processes," Mr. Ban's spokesperson's office said in a statement announcing the appointment.
Mr. Thiaw joined UNEP's Senior Management Team in 2007 as Director of the Division of Environmental Policy Implementation. Among other work, the Division spearheads UNEP's ecosystem management sub-programme, which promotes an approach to natural resource management focusing on sustaining terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems to meet both ecological and human needs. He also held the lead responsibility for UNEP's Post Conflict and Disasters Management Subprogramme.
"Mr. Thiaw's professional qualifications and over 30 years of experience in the fields of environment and sustainable development, coupled with his knowledge of UNEP and multilateral processes, make him an outstanding choice for this position," said UN Under-Secrearty-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
"Mr. Thiaw has led UNEP's contribution to intergovernmental processes such as the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). I congratulate him on his appointment and look forward to working with him in his new capacity as UNEP evolves its work on the inclusive Green Economy, the outcomes of the Rio+20 Summit and the post 2015 sustainable development agenda," added Mr Steiner.
Mr. Thiaw began his career in the Ministry of Rural Development in Mauritania where he worked from 1983-1992 and played a key role in the development of Mauritania's national environment institutions and policies. In 1992 he joined IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) where he held a series of positions including in the Sahel Programme with subsequent appointment as Africa Coordinator, Regional Director - West Africa and prior to joining UNEP- as Acting Director-General of IUCN.
Mr. Thiaw holds an advanced degree in Forestry and Forest product techniques. He is married with three children.