Thomas Stelzer

Thomas Stelzer (born on 19 June 1955) currently serves as United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He was appointed to the position by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in February 2008.

He holds a doctorate in law from Vienna University, a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from Stanford University, and a diploma in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna Center. Stelzer served in a variety of diplomatic and international positions in his early career. He was Deputy Director of the Austrian Cultural Institute in New York, Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, and Minister-Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in New York. He also serves as the Austrian Representative to the governing bodies of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Delegate to the Committee for Disarmament and International Security (First Committee) of the General Assembly.

Ambassador Stelzer has been serving since August 2001 as Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations (Vienna), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Preparatory Commission.

From 2002 to 2007, he was Facilitator and Chair of the Vienna Terrorism Symposiums. In 2003, he was Chair of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission. Between 2005 and 2006, he serves as President of the UNIDO Industrial Development Board. Most recently, he served as a Vice-Chair of the Second Conference of States Parties of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.