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Biographies Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations – Civil Society Relations - NGOs - Global policy Forum Biographies
Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations - Civil
Society Relations
Mr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso
ChairmanBrazil
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Fernando Henrique Cardoso is a distinguished Brazilian sociologist and politician, and was President of Brazil from 1995 to 2002. As an opponent of Brazil's military dictators, he lived in exile from 1964 to 1968. Upon his return home he was arrested, banned from teaching, and had his political and civil rights suspended. Mr. Cardoso was elected to the Brazilian Senate from the state of Sao Paulo in 1986 and two years later helped to found the centrist Social Democratic party. He served as foreign minister in1992–1993. An inflation-fighting supporter of free-market reforms, he became economy minister in 1993 and was credited with turning the troubled Brazilian economy around. He was elected President in 1994, moving to reduce government involvement in the economy and to attract foreign investment to Brazil. President Cardoso was reelected in 1998, but defeated in the 2002 presidential elections. In December 2002, the UN Development Programme bestowed on him its Mahbub ul Haq Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Development. In his book “Dependency and Development”, written in the 1970s, Mr. Cardoso was an early proponent of partnerships between government, civil society and private sector.
Mr. Bagher Asadi
IranH.E. Ambassador Bagher Asadi has represented his country in a number of key positions at the United Nations, including Chairmanship of the Group of 77 in New York for the year 2001. He obtained his B.A. from the University of Tehran, Iran, and later received an M.A. from the University of Colorado, U.S., in Economics, with a concentration in economic development. He joined the Foreign Ministry in 1982 and was assigned to the Department of International Affairs. The Ambassador served as Charge d'Affaires at the Iranian Mission to the United Nations, Geneva, during 1988-1990, and also served as Advisor to the Foreign Minister between 1992 and 1996. With the United Nations in New York, he was Co-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) for the period 1997-2000.
Ms. Birgitta Dahl
SwedenMs. Birgitta Dahl served as speaker of her country’s Parliament from 1994 to 2002. From 1976 to 1979, she was the chairman of the International Executive Committee of Amnesty International, and she served as Secretary General of Swedish Save the Children from 1986 to 1992. She joined the Swedish government in 1982 as Minister of Energy in the Ministry of Industry. From 1986 to 1989, Ms. Dahl was the Minister of Environment and Energy, and the Minister of Environment for 1989 - 1990. She worked as Special Adviser to the Swedish Development Agency in 1993-1994. Ms. Dahl is a graduate of the Stockholm School of Economics.
Ms. Peggy Dulany
United StatesPeggy Dulany is Founder and Chair of The Synergos Institute. Her career has included heading a Boston-area public high school program for dropouts, for six years; consulting with the United Nations and the Ford Foundation on health care and family planning; and consulting with the National Endowment for the Arts on nonprofit management and planning. She was Senior Vice President of the New York City Partnership for five years, where she headed the Youth Employment and Education programs. Ms. Dulany is an honour graduate of Radcliffe College and holds a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University. She is also Chair of Peradventures, a business development company for Latin America and Southern Africa.
Mr. André Erdös
HungaryH.E. Ambassador André Erdos is currently Ambassador of Hungary to France and was his country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1997 until early 2002, and also from 1990 to 1994. He has served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary since 1965, including as Deputy State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 1994, addressing matters relating to the United Nations, NATO and disarmament. Ambassador Erdos also served as Chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Commission in 1994, and as a member of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters and also as its Chairman in 1998. He was Vice-President of the Review and Extension Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1995. Ambassador Erdos was Special Assistant to Imre Hollai of Hungary, the President of the 37th Session of the General Assembly.
Ms. Asma Khader
JordanMs. Asma Khader, lawyer and human rights activist, is Coordinator of [SIGI Sisterhood is Global Institute]/Jordan and former President of the Jordanian Women's Union from 1992 to 1996. She was instrumental in creating a Legal Literacy/Legal Assistance program for Jordanian women and is a founder/member of several women's human rights NGOs. Elected to the Permanent Arab Court as Counsel on violence against women in 1995, she is well known for her campaigns to strengthen legislation outlawing honor killing. Ms. Khader is also a member of the Executive Committee of the International Commission of Jurists. She has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the Jordanian Independence Medal of the First Degree, for her role in formulating the Jordanian National Charter.
Mr. Juan Mayr
ColombiaMr. Juan Mayr is a crusading environmentalist and a self -taught photographer. Between 1993 and 1996, Mayr was elected vice-president of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). In August 1998, Colombian President Andres Pastrana Arango appointed him Minister of the Environment. In addition to his national activities, in February 1999 he was elected President of the Extraordinary Session of the Convention on Biological Diversity until January 2000. In recognition for his work, Mayr won the Dunning Award for the Conservation of Tropical Forests in Latin America in 1990. In 1998, Prince Bernardo of Holland gave him "The Golden Ark Prize", and in 1999, the King of Spain honored him with the "Orden al Mérito Civil en el Grado de Caballero", a degree of Knighthood.
Mr. Kumi Naidoo
South AfricaMr. Kumi Naidoo is Secretary General and CEO of Civicus World Alliance for Citizen Participation, an international alliance of more than 500 organizations and individuals from 100 countries dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. Mr. Naidoo joined Civicus in September 1998. Previously he was the founding Executive Director of the South African National NGO Coalition, the umbrella agency for the NGO community in South Africa. Mr. Naidoo has a Doctorate of Philosophy from Oxford University.
Ms. Mary Racelis
PhilippinesMs. Mary Racelis is deeply involved in teaching and research activities focusing on urbanization, urban poverty, sociology and development issues. She has served in a managerial capacity in several international development agencies, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation. She was formerly Regional Director for the UNICEF office for the East and South Africa Region. Ms. Racelis has published extensively on issues pertaining to Filipino cultura; and social development, urbanization, poverty, housing policy, informal settlers and people's participation, values, social structure, social change and social planning.
Mr. Prakash Ratilal
MozambiquePrakash Ratilal was the Governor of the Bank of Mozambique from 1981-1986. He was later appointed the Mozambican Government Emergency Coordinator, for the department that coordinates donor and United Nations assistance linked to emergency response in Mozambique. He has a strong background in development policy and finance. Mr. Ratilal currently works in Maputo as Managing Director of ACE Consoltores -- an independent consulting firm that provides technical advice to bilateral donors, the World Bank, and the United Nations in the strategic planning and evaluation of their development programmes. Mr. Ratilal has published extensively on bilateral development programmes and poverty reduction.
Ms. Aminata Traoré
MaliAminata Traore, former Minister of Culture and Tourism of Mali, is an author, community leader and manager of cultural events and enterprises, with a doctorate in social psychology. As an international consultant, her work has focused on social development and the social cost of globalization, women’s issues, environment and the role of culture as the basis for human reconstruction when access to essential goods is problematic. From 1988 to 1992, Dr Traore was the Regional director for the PROWEVESS Programme (Promotion of the Role of Women in Water, Environmental and Sanitation Services), under the auspices of the UN Development Programme. Ms. Traore is a member of the World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalization.
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