High-level Opening Ceremony

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was born on 5 February 1968 in Alanya, Turkey.

Mr. Çavuşoğlu received his Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from Ankara University in 1988 and completed his Master’s Degree in Economics at Long Island University in New York in 1991. He also completed the Expertise Programme on European Union in European Research Center at Ankara University in 1993.

He started a PhD Degree in International Relations at Bilkent University as a special student in 1993 and carried out research at the London School of Economics (LSE) between 1993 and 1995 with the Jean Monnet Fellowship.

Mr. Çavuşoğlu is a founding member of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). He was elected as Member of Parliament from Antalya for the 22nd, 23rd and 24th Parliamentary Terms. He was the Vice Chairman of the AK Party in charge of Foreign Affairs from January to December 2013. He was the Chairman of Turkey-USA and Turkey-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Caucuses.

Between 2003-2014, at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), he served as Vice President, Chairman of Turkish Delegation, Chairman of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Migration, Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Tourism Development, Member of Monitoring Committee, Committee on Economic Affairs and Development, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy. He was also the 2nd Vice Chairman and Chief Whip of European Democrat Group (EDG).

He was elected as the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) during 2010-2012 and is the first Turkish parliamentarian to hold this office. He was granted the title of Honorary President of the PACE in 2014.

He was the PACE representative at the Venice Commission from 27 January 2012 to 31 January 2014.

Moreover, he served as the Chairman of the Turkish Delegation to the European Security and Defence Assembly (Assembly of Western European Union) between 2007 and 2010.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu served as Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator of the Republic of Turkey between 26 December 2013 and 29 August 2014.

He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the 62th Government of the Republic of Turkey between 29 August 2014 and 30 August 2015.

He was reappointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the 64th and 65th Government of the Republic of Turkey.

He speaks English, German and Japanese. He is married and has one child.

Since October 2015, Mr. Jorge Chediek has been the Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, leading United Nations system-wide promotion and coordination of South-South cooperation for development. In March 2016, Mr. Chediek was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as his Envoy on South-South Cooperation.

Prior to this, Mr. Chediek served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Brazil (2010-2015). In that capacity, he was also the Director of the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, UNDP’s global forum for policy dialogue and South-South learning on social development innovations. He served as Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Peru (2005-2010); United Nations Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Nicaragua (2001-2005); Deputy Resident Representative in Cuba (1999-2001); Deputy Resident Representative in Uruguay (1996-1999); Programme Management Officer, Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States in New York (1994-1996); and Programme Officer and then Assistant Resident Representative in Turkey (1990-1994).

Preceding his United Nations career, Mr. Chediek worked at the Department of Legislative Analysis of the Argentinean Congress and as an independent consultant assisting in the design of financial investment systems in Argentina.

Born in 1960, he holds a Master of Science in Foreign Service (honors) from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Science (“Licenciado”) in Political Science from Catholic University in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

H.E. Ambassador Galo Andres Yepez Holguin serves as Advisor to the Undersecretary of International Cooperation, Ecuador.

He has previously served as Administrators in the Chancellery Consul in El Havre, Second Secretary of the Delegation of Ecuador to UNESCO, First Secretary of the Embassy in Italy. Counselor of the Embassy of Ecuador to the Holy See, Chargé d’Affaires ad-interim of Ecuador to the Holy See (several periods). Counselor and Minister in Chancellery, Minister in Peru. Chargé d’Affaires ai several times. General Director of Planning and Finance, General Coordinator, Undersecretary of Planning, Director of Ceremonial and Protocol. Ambassador in Guatemala and Concurrent Ambassador in Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Saint Lucia.

Delegate to several international meetings within the framework of UNESCO, IOC, FAO, IILA and the Andean Community. Advanced Protocol to Bogotá, Caracas and Argentina, Representative in CAPRADE, Sent to deliver humanitarian aid to Chile and Haiti. Special envoy to Iran.

Education:

– Faculty of Jurisprudence of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador-Doctor Jurisprudence.
– School of International Sciences of the Central University of Ecuador-Doctor of International Sciences.
– University Santo Tomás de Aquino, Rome. Licenza Social Sciences.
– Institute of Higher National Studies. Master in Security and Development.

For the position of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, the Secretary-General selected Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu of Tonga on 12 April 2017 who was the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Tourism, Tonga from January 2017.

Ms. ‘Utoikamanu brings with her a wealth of national, regional and international experience at various senior leadership levels, with a strategic perspective for the mandate of the OHRLLS and on building consensus among key stakeholders.

She was previously Acting Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Council of the University of the South Pacific (2015), Deputy Pro-Chancellor and Deputy Chair of the Council of the University of the South Pacific (2009-2016), Deputy Director General and Director of Education, Training and Human Development of the Secretariat of Pacific Community (2009-2015), Permanent Representative and Ambassador of the Government of Tonga to the United Nations, United States of America, Cuba and Venezuela and High Commissioner to Canada (2005-2009), and Secretary for Foreign Affairs and European Commission’s National Authorizing Officer for Tonga (2002-2005).

Mr. Magdy Martínez-Solimán is Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, and UNDP’s Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. Prior to this appointment he was the Deputy Director, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP.

He is a lawyer by training, a former practicing barrister and Assistant Professor of International Law. He has worked and written on Political Systems and provided legal counseling in Constitutional and Administrative Law. In his professional career, he has been State Secretary for Youth in the Spanish National Government, CEO of two public corporations and member of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games in Barcelona 92. He was also Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, in charge of relations with the Parliament of Andalusia, and elected member of the Municipal Council of his hometown Malaga, the fourth city of the country.

Mr. Martínez-Solimán has been working for the UN for 20 years, focusing on electoral assistance, public financial management, democratic transitions and national dialogue. He was posted in Burundi, Togo, Bangladesh and Senegal. He was UNDP’s Senior Governance Adviser for the 18 West African countries from 2000 to 2003, and until 2006, he was the Practice Manager of UNDP’s Democratic Governance Team at Headquarters. That year he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as the first Executive Director of the UN Democracy Fund. From January 2008 until February 2012, he was the UN Resident Coordinator in Mexico and UNDP’s Resident Representative. He is UNDP’s senior focal point for the 2030 Agenda and the Co-Chair of the UN Development Group’s SDG Task Force.

Mr. Martínez-Solimán initiated his Law Studies at the University Complutense of Madrid, holds a degree in Law (Juris Doctor) from the Universidad de Malaga and has been a Member of the Spanish Bar Association since 1984.

Ms. Mueller has over thirty years of experience in international affairs, global issues and development financing. She has been Executive Director of the World Bank Group since September 2014, responsible for a range of issues including strategy, policy, budget and the approval of programmes worth $62 billion in 2016. She has consistently worked to foster close cooperation between the World Bank and the United Nations.

Prior to this role, Ms. Mueller served as Director General in Germany’s Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (2012-2014), and as Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2010-2012). Ms. Mueller coordinated a taskforce in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond to the global Financial Crisis (2009-2010).

Ms. Mueller has significant humanitarian and field experience. She was Germany’s Humanitarian Coordinator (2006-2009), during which she managed Germany’s multi-million dollar humanitarian budget, oversaw all of Germany’s humanitarian operations and took forward initiatives on landmines and conflict prevention. During this time she also served on the Advisory Board of the United Nations’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Advisory Board to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA). Ms. Mueller was Germany’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan (2001-2002), and was Germany’s Civil Coordinator in Kosovo (2000).

Ms. Mueller studied economics at the University of Hagen, Germany, and graduated from Germany’s Foreign Affairs Institute with a Master of Arts in Public Policy and Public Administration.

Ambassador Ramil Hasanov, Secretary General of the Turkic Council, was born on 23 September 1978. He holds A Bachelor’s Degree from Faculty of History of Baku State University and Master’s Degree from Faculty of International Relations of Baku State University. He served as a Member of the Board of Garadagh Municipality (city of Baku) during 1999-2002. He was founder and co-chair of the Azerbaijan-Turkey Youth Friendship Society during 1999-2003. From 2002 until 2010, he worked as a Head of the Department at the State Committee on Affairs with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijan and also served as the Chairman of Youth Organization of New Azerbaijan Party (ruling party in Azerbaijan) from 2005 till 2010.

Between 2008-2014, he lectured “Contemporary Azerbaijani Foreign Policy” at the Faculty of International Relations of Baku State University. He was the first Secretary General of Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic-speaking Countries (TURKPA), one of the affiliated body of Turkic Council, from 2009 until 2013. Between November 2013 and January 2014, he attended Extensive Education Program in London on improvement of professional skills. In 2014, he was awarded a certificate of completion for the Senior Executive Fellows Program, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Executive Education. He was appointed as the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) by the decision of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey at the 4th Summit of the Turkic Council in 2014. He has a diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the first class.

Born in Konya, Turkey; Musa Kulaklikaya studied Business Administration at Ankara University Faculty of Political Science and obtained his Master’s degree from Karadeniz Technical University in the field of Finance. He pursues his doctoral degree at Necmettin Erbakan University in Konya, Turkey. He speaks English and Arabic as well as his mother tongue, Turkish.

He started his professional career as an expert at the Turkish State Railways (TCDD). Following this, he started to work as candidate district governor at the Ministry of Interior. After completion of the training period, he served as district governor and deputy governor in different provinces and cities of Turkey.

In 2004, he took office as the Vice President of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA). After holding this post for 3.5 years, Mr. Kulaklikaya was appointed as the President of TIKA where he undertook significant international development projects. He focused on regional development projects mainly on infrastructure development, sustainable agricultural production, irrigation systems, health, vocational education training, capacity building programmes in public sector and humanitarian aid. Majority of TIKA-funded projects were implemented in cooperation with local authorities and NGOs both in Turkey and in the beneficiary countries. Moreover, he enhanced collaboration with international partners including Islamic Development Bank (IDB), World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).

He was awarded the “ECO Prize” and FAO’s “World Food Day Award” in 2010.

In 2011, he was assigned as the Ambassador of Republic of Turkey to Islamic Republic of Mauritania where he coordinated food security, drinking water and health projects in cooperation with Turkish NGOs and TIKA.

Mr. Kulaklikaya has authored “Turkey as a New Player in Development Cooperation” (Insight Turkey, 2010- with Dr. Rahman Nurdun) and “Latest Global Trends in Development Aid and TIKA” (Kalkınma Yardımında Dünyadaki Son Trendler ve TİKA) (Uluslararası Sorunlar Dergisi, 2011).

After having been designated as Director General of SESRIC, H.E. Amb. Kulaklikaya took office as of 27 March 2015.

Mr. Mario Pezzini is Director of the OECD Development Centre.

Moreover, after having served for a year as Acting Director of the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate, he has been now nominated Special Advisor to the OECD Secretary General on Development.

The OECD Development Centre is an institution where governments, enterprises and civil society organisations informally discuss questions of common interest. Its Governing Board includes most of the OECD countries but also developing and emerging economies as full members. The Centre helps policy makers in OECD and partner countries find innovative solutions to the global challenges of development. (www.oecd.org/dev)

Before joining the Development Centre in 2010, Mario Pezzini held several senior management positions in the OECD, where he has been working since 1995.

Prior to joining the OECD, Mr. Pezzini was Professor in Industrial Economics at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris as well as in US and Italian Universities. Also, Mr. Pezzini served as an Advisor in the field of economic development, industrial organisation and regional economics in international organisations and think tanks (e.g. ILO, UNIDO, European Commission and Nomisma in Italy). Mr. Pezzini started his career in the Government office of the Emilia-Romagna Region.

Graduated from Galatasaray High School and Galatasaray University, Department of International Relations. Masters degree on Eurasian Studies program at Middle East Technical University. She is a PhD candidate at Galatasaray University. In 2009, worked as an Assistant Coordinator at Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) in Istanbul. Began to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey in 2009 as Candidate Professional Officer at the Diplomatic Academy. Between 2010-2011, served as Attaché and Third Secretary at the Deputy Directorate General for NATO and Euro-Atlantic Security and Defense Affairs. Between 2011-2012, served as Third Secretary at the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad. In 2012, appointed to the Secretariat of the Turkic Council as International staff.