Vesna Pusić
Dr. Vesna Pusić is the former First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia. Dr. Pusić is an accomplished sociologist and politician, graduating in 1976 with a degree in philosophy from the University of Zagreb and earning a doctorate in sociology in 1984 from the University of Zagreb.
As an academic she conducted research at the International Research Group – IDE (1975 to 1979), the Institute of Sociology at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia (1976 to 1978) and since 1978 she has been associated with the University of Zagreb. Her research covers theories of industrial democracy and the sociology of politics. Dr. Pusić has also lectured at the University of Chicago, Cornell University, American University in Washington DC and the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars.
In 1978, Dr. Pusić and seven other women formed the first feminist organization in SFR Yugoslavia, Žena i društvo. She was also a founder and director of the nongovernmental organization, Erasmus Guild (1993-1998), which promoted cultural democracy in post-conflict transition Croatia and the Balkans.
Dr. Pusić entered politics officially as a founding member of the Croatian People’s Party in 1990. After leaving for a few years, she returned in 1992 and later served as president of the party from 2000 and 2008, and later again in 2013. In 2000, she was elected to the Croatian Parliament and from 2003 to 2007 she served as the Deputy Speaker. From 2006 to 2012, she was the vice-president of the European Liberal Democratic and Reform Party and from 2008 to 2012 she was the Chairperson of the National Committee for Monitoring the Accession Negotiations between Croatia and the European Union. Dr. Pusić ran as the HNS-LD party candidate for president of Croatia during the 2009-2010 election, and served in 2013 as the party’s president.
In January 2016, the Croatian government formally nominated Dr. Pusić as a candidate for the position of UN Secretary-General. She formally withdrew her candidacy on August 5, 2016.
QUICK FACTS
NAME
Vesna Pusić
BIRTHDATE
25 April 1953
EDUCATION
University of Zagreb
PLACE OF BIRTH
Zagreb, Yugoslavia
RESIDENCY
Zagreb, Croatia
LANGUAGES
Croatian, English, German
Official Candidate for UN Secretary-General
Nominated by the Government of Croatia,
January 14, 2016
Letter of appreciation to the former UN Secretary-General Candidate from the Campaign Chair:
Christiana Figueres
Official Candidate for UN Secretary-General
Nominated by the Government of Costa Rica
July 7, 2016
​
Christiana Figueres directed the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21), helping to bring together the interests of world leaders as they negotiated an international agreement to reduce global warming. Following the failed climate change negotiations at the Copenhagen climate conference in 2009, Ms. Figueres, in her commitment to achieving a universally agreed-upon regulatory framework, assumed responsibility for the annual conferences. In the lead up to COP21, Ms. Figueres directed productive Conferences of the Parties in Cancun 2010, Durban 2011, Doha 2012, Warsaw 2013, and Lima 2014, before finally arriving at the Paris Agreement of 2015.
Ms. Figueres served as the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for two successful terms until July 2016. She was originally appointed to this position in 2010 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and was reappointed for a second, three-year term in 2013.
Ms. Figueres was born into a political family; her father, José Figueres Ferrer, served as president of Costa Rica on three occasions, between 1948-1949; 1953-1958; and 1970-74. Her mother Karen Olsen Beck, served as Costa Rican Ambassador to Israel in 1982 and was member of the national Legisative Assembly from 1990 to 1994. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Swarthmore College; a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from London School of Economics; and a certificate in Organizational Development from Georgetown University. She was awarded an honorary doctorate of law degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston n 2014.
Ms. Figueres began her life as a public servant at the Embassy of Costa Rica in Germany in 1982. Following this post, was appointed Director of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Planning from 1987 to 1988, and subsequently Chief of Staff to the Minister of Agriculture from 1988 to 1990.
Following a move to the United States in the early 1990s, Ms. Figueres accepted a position as Director of Renewable Energy in the Americas (REIA) and in 1995 founded the non-profit, Center for Sustainable Development of the Americas (CSDA). She directed CSDA for eight years, helping to establish national climate change programs in Argentina, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama.
A longstanding promoter of Latin America’s active participation in global climate change policy, Ms. Figueres has contributed to the analytical literature on the design of the climate regime. She has served as a high level advisor to both governments and private companies regarding climate change, and has published widely on Latin America, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), climate regime design, and capacity building.
In 2001, Ms. Figueres was awarded the Hero for the Planet Award by National Geographic Magazine.
QUICK FACTS
NAME
Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen
BIRTHDATE
7 August 1956​
EDUCATION
Swarthmore College, London School of Economics, Georgetown University
PLACE OF BIRTH
San José, Costa Rica
RESIDENCY
United States
LANGUAGES
Spanish, English​, German
