SECRETARY-GENERAL REAPPOINTS MAREK BELKA OF POLAND
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE
New York and Geneva, 9 February 2007 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
today announced the reappointment of Marek Belka
of Poland as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE). Mr. Belka, who assumed his functions in 2006, was
originally appointed by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Marek Belka has outstanding qualifications and numerous accomplishments
in the area of economics and global economic governance. He served as
Prime Minister of Poland between May 2004 and November 2005. He helped
to direct Iraq’s post-war economy by serving first as Chairman of the
Council for International Coordination for Iraq (responsible for international
aid coordination for the reconstruction of Iraq, June-October 2003), and
later as Director of Economic Policy (responsible for the preparation of
economic reforms in Iraq, October 2003-March 2004). He served as Poland’s
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (February-October 1997 and
October 2001-July 2002). He also served as Chief Economic Adviser
to the President of Poland (1996-1997 and 1998 -2001).
Previously, Mr. Belka was an adviser and consultant to the Ministry of Finance
and the Ministry of Ownership Transformations and Central Office of Planning
(1990-1996). He was also a Consultant to the World Bank between 1990
and 1996 dealing with projects in Poland, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia,
Uzbekistan and China, and again from 1997 to 2001. He also served as
Adviser to the Prime Minister of Albania (1997-2001) and Senior Adviser to
JP Morgan for Central and Eastern Europe (November 2002-June 2003). Mr.
Belka has authored several books and articles dealing with socio-economic
issues.
Mr. Belka was born on 9 January 1952. He earned an M.A. (economics
of foreign trade), a Ph.D. in economics and a Ph.D. (“habilitation” in
economics) from the University of Lódź. He earned a Fulbright
Scholarship at Columbia University (post-doctoral programme) and an American
Council of Learned Societies’ Scholarship at the University of Chicago.
Mr. Belka is married with two children.
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Ref: ECE/GEN/07/P01