Odisha-born development and environment expert Satya S Tripathi has been appointed an Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and will head the UN Environment Programme’s New York office.
Tripathi is now the third Indian at the senior levels of the UN hierarchy.
He has served the UN for 20 years in Europe, Asia and Africa on strategic assignments in sustainable development, human rights, democratic governance and legal affairs.
He has been the Senior Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the UNEP since 2017.
He also chaired the Committees on laws and Treaties for the UN-mediated Cyprus unification talks in 2004.
Tripathi has commerce and law bachelor’s degrees and a Master in law from the Berhampur University.
Atul Khare, the Under-Secretary-General who heads the Department of Operational Services, is the senior-most Indian at the UN.
At the New York office of UNEP, Tripathi’s duties will include supporting development, coordination and implementation of system-wide strategies on environment for the UN and “catalysing transformative change” throughout the UN “to integrate the environmental dimension of peace, security and sustainable development,” according to the description of the post.