Hungarian named as UN Assistant Secretary-General

Hungary's János Pásztor of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been appointed as the first-ever UN Assistant Secretary-General on Climate Change. The announcement has been made by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.

In this capacity, János Pásztor will serve as the Senior Adviser of the Secretary-General on climate change until the twenty-first United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 21), to be held in December 2015 in Paris.

János Pásztor’s tenure will focus on supporting efforts towards a universal climate agreement in 2015 and mobilizing global climate action on the ground, including through a coherent United Nations system-wide action.

János Pásztor comes from his position as Acting Executive Director, Conservation, and Director of Policy and Science, at World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International. From 2011 to 2012, he served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, and from 2008 to 2010 as the Director of the Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support Team.

In 2007, János Pásztor served as Director of the Environment Management Group in the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).  Prior to that, he held various senior positions in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 1993 to 2006.

János Pásztor holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.