Under Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
Monique Barbut has over 30 years of experience in sustainable development, international diplomacy, governance and finance.
From 2006 to 2012, she was Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and World Bank Vice President. Prior to that she was a UNEP director, preceding which she oversaw diverse functions in the French Aid system, ranging from aid evaluation to serving as Executive Director of Agence Française de Dévéloppement. She played a key role in the 1992 Rio Earth Summit finance negotiations and GEF’s creation thereafter.