UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai is running for a 2014-2017 second term

Taleb Rifai (born 1949) is the current Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, the first Arab to run the 154 member body. He is based in Madrid, Spain, where the UNWTO agency is based. Rifai was born in Jordan in 1949. He is married and has 5 children.

The 95th session of the UNWTO Executive Council, meeting in Belgrade, unanimously recommended Taleb Rifai as a nominee for the post of Secretary-General for the four-year-period starting January 2014 (Belgrade, Republic of Serbia, 28 May 2013).

The candidature of Mr. Rifai was presented by his country, Jordan, in accordance with the UNWTO statutes.

The recommendation of the UNWTO Executive Council will be submitted to the upcoming UNWTO General Assembly for ratification (25-29 August 2013, Victoria Falls – Zambia/Zimbabwe).

Ater completing his B.Shia. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Cairo in 1973, Rifai went on to attain a master’s degree in Engineering and Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago – USA in 1979. He received his Ph.D. in Urban Design and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia – USA in 1983.[2] From 1973 to 1993, he was involved in research, teaching and practicing Architecture and Urban Design in Jordan and the United States. He was a professor of Architecture at the University of Jordan in Amman and taught several courses in Philadelphia, Chicago and MIT. From 1993 to 1995, Rifai headed Jordan’s first Economic Mission to Washington DC, promoting trade, investments, and economic relations between Jordan and the USA. Rifai was also actively involved in policy making and developing investment strategies in his capacity as Director General of the Investment Promotion Corporation (IPC) in Jordan (1995–1997).[3] In the three years preceding his service in the Jordanian Cabinet, he was appointed the CEO of Jordan’s Cement Company, one of the country’s largest public shareholding companies with over 4,000 employees. During his term he successfully led and directed the first large-scale privatization and restructuring scheme in Jordan by bringing in the French cement company Lafarge in 1998 and continued to serve as CEO under the new Lafarge management. From 1999 to 2003, he served in several ministerial portfolios in the Government of Jordan, first, as Minister of Planning and International Cooperation in charge of Jordan’s Development Agenda and bilateral and multilateral relationships with donors and agencies. He was subsequently appointed Minister of Information, in which capacity he was spokesman of the Government of Jordan and in charge of communication and public media. During his tenure, he embarked on restructuring public media and in particular the Jordan Television Network. In 2001, his portfolio was expanded to include the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquity. During his term as Minister of Tourism and Antiquity, Taleb Rifai established Jordan’s first Archaeological Park in the ancient city of Petra in collaboration with UNESCO and the World Bank. He also realized several large projects in Jerash, the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum. As Minister of Tourism, he was the Chairman of the Jordan Tourism Board, President of the Ammon School for Tourism and Hospitality and was elected Chairman of the Executive Council of the UNWTO in 2001.[2] Prior to assuming his current post, Taleb Rifai was the Assistant Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for three consecutive years. His responsibilities included the overall supervision and implementation of the International Labour Standards, as well as advising on labour markets and employment policies, particularly in the Middle East region. He was elected as Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) at the General Assembly, Astana, Kazakhstan, in October 2009 and begun his four-year term on the 1st January 2010. He assumed the functions of Secretary-General ad interim of the World Tourism Organization since 1 March 2009 and served as Deputy Secretary-General from February 2006 to February 2009.