Mr. Thanawat Tiensin was elected as Chairperson of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on October 18, 2019.

As the Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN Agencies in Rome, he has taken on other responsibilities such as Vice Chairperson of the 41st FAO Conference, Chairperson of the Asia Regional Group, Bureau member of the FAO Committee on Agriculture (COAG), Bureau member of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), Bureau member and Rapporteur of the Plenary Assembly of Global Soil Partnership (GSP), Bureau member of the G77 & China, and Vice Chairperson and Member of the FAO Council in 2018.

Mr. Tiensin was a former Assistant Director General and Senior Expert on International Livestock Trade and Cooperation at Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. He has worked for international development programmes in various technical areas such as agriculture, livestock, food security and food safety, international trade, and capacity building of veterinary service related issues with FAO, ADB, APHCA, EU, IAEA, and OIE in several countries including DPR Korea, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand.

With over 50 academic publications, he also provides lectures and technical services for various national and international universities and institutions. Mr. Tiensin has a Ph.D. in Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics from Utrecht University, The Netherlands and a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) from Kasetsart University, Thailand.

Qu Dongyu, who took office on 1 August 2019 as Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, has spent his life working on how to make sure the world is fed.

Born in 1963 to a rice-growing family in China’s Hunan Province, Qu studied horticultural science at Hunan Agricultural University and then plant breeding and genetics at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He later added environmental science to his knowledge portfolio while earning a PhD at Wageningen University, in the Netherlands.

He then progressed through a range of national and international activities, engaged simultaneously in science and management, all during a time when China’s reform and opening-up process led the country to dramatically reduce poverty and hunger in a country with 20 percent of the global population, 9 percent of the world’s cultivated land, and where over 90 percent of the rural population is engaged in small holder farm operations working less than 3 hectares.

His vision is founded on the belief that freedom from hunger is a basic human right, and that in the 21st century we have the capability to eradicate chronic food insecurity. While challenges loom, Qu’s cardinal principle is that “problems can also be the source of progress”

Before coming to FAO, Qu served as China’s Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, where one of his achievements was to promote inclusive and innovative development and make sure information and communication technologies (ICT) were available in rural areas so that more than 400 million farmers could use their smartphones as a new farming tool.

That vision has been consistent across a professional career that includes periods in central and local government, in and leading research institutes, and as a human resources leader at the China Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, a $40 billion investment project.

Among his national initiatives has been to improve reporting of wholesale prices for agricultural products in China and foster the establishment of more than 100 specialty production areas geared to making local comparative advantages work to the benefit of local farmers. As Vice Governor of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, one of China’s landlocked and poorest areas, Qu formulated action plans aimed at poverty reduction, disaster reduction and prevention, women empowerment, agritourism and mutual learning platforms designed to boost trust between ethnic groups.

Qu says he represents the combination of an “Asian soul” and a “global mind”. Recognized for scientific innovation as a young scholar, Qu has for 30 years been involved in international exchanges and orchestrated major events including the World Potato Congress, the International Rice Congress and the International Conference on Plant Protection, and participated in multilateral initiatives such as the World Trade Organization and the G20 as well as numerous bilateral initiatives involving Asia, Africa and Latin America. He has also directly helped design flagship South-South Cooperation projects with FAO and the World Bank.

His motto is “Simple life, but not simple work”.

He is married, and has one daughter

Gilbert F. Houngbo became the sixth President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on 1 April 2017.

Born and raised in rural Togo, Houngbo has spent more than 30 years working to improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people, with extensive experience in political affairs, international development, diplomacy and financial management.

Prior to his appointment as IFAD President, Houngbo was the Deputy Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) where he led field operations in more than 100 countries and managed its bilateral and multilateral partnerships. He served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Togo from 2008 to 2012, where he introduced economic reforms and enhanced the rule of law and civil liberties.

From 1996 to 2008, he undertook a number of roles at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) including Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary-General, Africa Regional Director, where he led poverty alleviation programmes in 45 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Prior to this, he spent a decade in the private sector, including at Price Waterhouse, Canada, where he worked in Audit and Financial Advisory Services. Houngbo has a Matrîse en gestion des entreprises from the University of Lomé, Togo, and a Diplôme d’Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées in Specialised Accounting from the University of Québec, Canada.

He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants.

As Executive Director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley continues his life’s work bridging political, religious and ethnic boundaries to champion economic development and education. At WFP, Mr. Beasley is putting to use four decades of leadership and communications skills to mobilise more financial support and public awareness for the global fight against hunger

That fight is ever more critical now, with hunger rising because of persistent conflict and the impact of climate change. Under Mr Beasley’s leadership, WFP has mobilised the resources required to respond to an expanding caseload of people who require food assistance due to the impact of conflict, displacement, climate shocks and socio-economic downturns. In 2020, the agency aims to reach around 100 million people. Mr Beasley is also driving greater focus and attention to WFP’s work beyond emergency food assistance, highlighting the fact that longer term development can bring peace and stability to troubled regions.

Before coming to WFP in April 2017, Mr Beasley spent a decade working with high-profile leaders and on-the-ground programme managers in more than 100 countries, directing projects designed to foster peace, reconciliation and economic progress. He travelled to as many as 30 countries a year, organizing, leading or participating in conferences and missions in Kosovo, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen, among others. His work has allowed him to develop deep relationships with leaders around the world.

Mr. Ron Hartman is currently IFAD’s Director for Global Engagement, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization. He is responsible for leading IFAD's global engagement and multilateral relations including with the private sector; south-south and triangular cooperation, resource mobilization and funds management. Prior to his current position, Mr. Hartman served as IFAD Country Director and Representative at its South East Asia and the Pacific sub-regional office in Jakarta.

With over 25 years of professional experience, including over 18 years with the United Nations, Mr Hartman has acquired an extensive managerial and operational experience in over 25 countries. He has specialized knowledge in promoting sustainable socio-economic development and poverty reduction, public policy and partnerships. He has strong technical experience in the design and implementation of public and private investments. In 2011, Mr Hartman was awarded the IFAD Presidential Award for outstanding performance.

Ms. Kvitashvili is an accomplished development practitioner with global humanitarian and crisis response leadership and field operations expertise spanning more than 35 years with USAID in countries such as Sri Lanka, Georgia, Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Bosnia, Honduras, Rwanda, DRC and the Horn of Africa. Among many assignments, she served as Director of the Disaster Response Division in the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Mission Director in Russia and Sri Lanka. She was the founding director of USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation which launched new ways of thinking and approaching development through a conflict lens. She served as Humanitarian Advisor to the US/UN Rome Ambassador, 2010-2013 where, among other things, she twice served as Co-Chair for CFS multi-stakeholder negotiation including the VGGTs and the FFA.

Now retired from USAID (but back on short-term contract with the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance), she remains engaged through a variety of international consulting assignments focused on peacebuilding and humanitarian assistance and serves as an international election monitor with OSCE. She continues to serve as adjunct professor at Georgetown University, in the Master’s Program in Conflict Resolution where she teaches two practicum on “Humanitarian and Conflict Assessment” and “Project Development in a Conflict Setting”. Ms. Kvitashvili has an MA degree from London University, School of Oriental and Africa Studies (SOAS), with a focus on Near East Studies. In her spare time, pre-COVID, she volunteers for several organizations and teaches English to Russian immigrant senior citizens. Married with two adult children she now lives in San Francisco where she spends much time hiking outdoors and travelling with her husband of 32 years.

Alexandra Bugailiskis (MA Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University, 1992). She has served abroad as ambassador to Syria (1997 to 2000) and high commissioner to Cyprus (1998 to 2000), ambassador to Cuba (2003 to 2007) and Poland (2013 to 2015). In Ottawa, Ms. Bugailiskis has held a number of senior positions. She was director general of the Latin America and the Caribbean Bureau (2000 to 2002), executive director of the International Policy Framework Task Force in the Privy Council Office (2002 to 2003), and assistant deputy minister and executive coordinator of the Americas Strategy Secretariat (2007 to 2008). She also served as assistant deputy minister for Latin America and the Caribbean (2008 to 2010). In 2010, she became executive coordinator of the Inter-American Development Bank Business Opportunities Task Force and served concurrently as distinguished senior fellow at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. In 2011, she was appointed as the chief negotiator for the Canada-European Union Strategic Political Partnership Agreement and in 2015, concurrently became Assistant Deputy Minister for Europe, the Middle East, the Maghreb and Circumpolar Affairs. She is the recipient of awards for distinguished service for her work on Namibian independence, the Summit of the Americas, the response to the Haitian earthquake and, most recently, the resettlement of Syrian refugees. In August 2017, Alexandra Bugailiskis was appointed as Canada’s Ambassador to the Italian Republic, as well as Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, with concurrent accreditation as Ambassador to the Republic of San Marino and Albania and High Commissioner to Malta. She is married to Lt. Colonel (retd) Alexander Fieglar with whom she has two children Henry and Angelica.

Nutricionista dietista de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Especialista en epidemiología de la Universidad del Rosario y Magister en Epidemiología de la Universidad CES. Cuenta con más de 15 años de experiencia en el diseño, implementación, seguimiento y evaluación de programas y proyectos en Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional en el sector público (ICBF, Ministerio de Salud y Universidad Nacional de Colombia) y con la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO), donde trabajó como coordinadora de proyectos.

Participó en el diseño y desarrollo de la Encuesta Nacional de Situación Nutricional en sus versiones 2010 y 2015 como nutricionista epidemióloga y coordinadora técnica. En el año 2017 y 2018 coordinó el proceso de actualización de las Guías Alimentarias Basadas en Alimentos para mujeres gestantes, madres en período de lactancia y niños menores de 2 años.

Desde el año 2019 se desempeña como Directora de Nutrición del Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar.

Dominique Burgeon has over 25 years of professional experience, including in various leadership positions with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

He was appointed on 15 January 2021 as Director, FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in Geneva and continues to act as Director ad interim, Office of Emergencies and Resilience. From November 2012 to July 2020, he served as Director of FAO’s Emergency and Resilience Division, and also lead the FAO Corporate Strategic Programme on increasing the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods to threats and crises. He has extensive experience in humanitarian and development assistance, including through his most recent field assignment as FAO Representative in Bangladesh, where he oversaw one of FAO’s largest country programmes, putting into practice the concepts of disaster risk management for food and nutrition security. Dominique has also served in Syria and at UN Headquarters in New York.

He holds an M.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering and a post-graduate degree in International Relations and European Integration. He began his career with the French Agriculture Social Protection System (MSA).

Mr Kaatrud is WFP’s Global Director of Programme and Policy, based in WFP’s headquarters in Rome, Italy. Before that, Mr Kaatrud served in Bangkok as WFP’s Regional Director for Asia & the Pacific Bureau. In various senior positions in Emergencies, Assessment & Analysis and Logistics over the years, he had a lead role in building WFP’s internal response capacity, developing key strategic partnerships and strengthening inter-agency coordination.

His expertise focuses on Organizational Development, Policy change and networking for agricultural resilient development; Participatory Learning and Action Research through the utilization of the Participatory PM&E approach. He has a long term experience with key local and international NGOs, and actively involved in key local/national, regional & global agricultural development spaces. He holds Masters Degree in Participation, Power & Social Change from the (IDS), University of Sussex, UK, a High Institute Certificate in Good Governance, Public Policies and Civil Society from the University of the Castilla La Mancha, Spain, High Professional Diploma in Management of NGOs from Bir-Zeit University and a Bachelor degree in English Literature from the Islamic University of Gaza.

Currently he is the Co-Founder & General Coordinator of GUPAP; a multi-stakeholders space for policy influencing, networking & empowerment. Previously, he held several positions including; Agro Policy and Institutional Development Advisor of OXFAM-Gaza, Agriculture Program Manager at the ICRC-Gaza, Advisor of External Relations & Cooperation of Agricultural Development Association (PARC) and Director of Business Service Center for Women’s Enterprises (IFAD/AIDOS/PARC Project)

Involved in key national CSOs and regional/global initiatives including: Advisory Board of Creative Palestinian Communities Fund (RAWA), Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO), Grassroots International’s Resource Rights for All, the Palestinian Strategic Group for Conflict Transformation, the ESCWA Regional Expert Group on Development under Crises, Arab Network for Food sovereignty and the Arab Network for Urban Agriculture. Jury member of Welfare Association’s yearly prize for outstanding achievement of local NGOs. Member of Coordination Committee of the CSM of the UNCFS (ANFS/West Asia).

Expert speaker to UN seminars on assistance to Palestinian people and Gaza Reconstruction (Cairo, March 2009 & Vienna, April 2015), the International Urban Farming Conference, Berlin, Sept. 2017, FAO RNE regional Meeting on Role of Farmer Organizations in Agri-Food Systems Innovation, Cairo, July 2020 and the UNDFF Regional E-Launch in NENA, FAO/Cairo, Nov.2020.

Mr. Thanawat Tiensin was elected as Chairperson of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on October 18, 2019.

As the Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN Agencies in Rome, he has taken on other responsibilities such as Vice Chairperson of the 41st FAO Conference, Chairperson of the Asia Regional Group, Bureau member of the FAO Committee on Agriculture (COAG), Bureau member of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), Bureau member and Rapporteur of the Plenary Assembly of Global Soil Partnership (GSP), Bureau member of the G77 & China, and Vice Chairperson and Member of the FAO Council in 2018.

Mr. Tiensin was a former Assistant Director General and Senior Expert on International Livestock Trade and Cooperation at Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. He has worked for international development programmes in various technical areas such as agriculture, livestock, food security and food safety, international trade, and capacity building of veterinary service related issues with FAO, ADB, APHCA, EU, IAEA, and OIE in several countries including DPR Korea, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand.

With over 50 academic publications, he also provides lectures and technical services for various national and international universities and institutions. Mr. Tiensin has a Ph.D. in Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics from Utrecht University, The Netherlands and a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) from Kasetsart University, Thailand.

Since August 2016, Gerda Verburg (The Netherlands) has served as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, working with the 61 country governments that lead the SUN Movement, united with UN agencies, civil society, business and donors, in a common mission to defeat malnutrition in all its forms. She was appointed by the UN Secretary-General based on her extensive experience in politics and international cooperation.

Prior to her appointment, she served as Chair of the Agenda Council for Food and Nutrition of the World Economic Forum (WEF), 2014; was elected as Chair of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), 2013, and served as Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations Rome-based agencies (FAO, IFAD and WFP) from 2011.

Ms. Verburg was elected as Chair of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 17) in 2008, following her appointment the previous year as Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands.

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, renewed the position held by Gerda Verburg as Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement for a third term, effective from 1 August 2020.

Dr. Olaitan Olaniran is the Nigeria Permanent Representative to United Nations Rome-based Agencies namely FAO, IFAD and WFP, and Head of Mission. Besides his active participation in governance debates, he has chaired a number of key bodies: Africa Regional Group of Permanent Representative (2019); The Committee of World Food Security, CFS (2013); Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of National Food Security (VGTT) (2012); Rapporteur, HLPE Report on Sustainable Agriculture Development: What roles for livestock’s? (2016); and at IFAD Performance Based Allocation System of Funds to Member Countries. Director, IFAD Executive Board. An agriculture scientist of universities of Ibadan (B.sc) and Reading (Ph.D) and a policy maker - interacting with Civil Society, Private Sector groups, academia and Intergovernmental Organizations. He is married to Monilola and blessed with children and grandchildren.

Mario Arvelo (Santo Domingo, 1970) is a lawyer, political scientist, writer, photographer, public speaker, and a Career Ambassador for the Dominican Republic. As a diplomat, he has been posted to the Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States in Washington DC, and to the Dominican Embassies in Tokyo, Santiago de Chile, and Rome. As Permanent Representative to the Rome-based United Nations agencies, he seats at the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Executive Boards of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). A former Chair of the UN Committees on Agriculture (2012-14) and World Food Security (2017-19), he is a current member of the CFS Bureau. Ambassador Arvelo was a Commissioner-General for the Universal Exposition Expo Milano 2015; before entering public service, he worked in the private sector and in civil society.

Michael Fakhri is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon where he co-directs the Food Resiliency Project. Professor Fakhri received his doctorate from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, LL.M. from Harvard Law School, LL.B. from Queen's University, and B.Sc. in biology from the University of Western Ontario. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, he began his legal career with one of Canada's leading business law firms, later shifting to a practice in social justice advocacy.