Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment). Prior to joining UN Environment in August 2016, Solheim was the chair of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
From 2007 to 2012, Solheim held the combined portfolio of Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development, and from 2005 to 2007 served as Minister of International Development. During his time as Minister, Norwegian aid reached 1%, the highest in the world.
Solheim is also an experienced peace negotiator, having acted as the main facilitator of the peace process in Sri Lanka from 1998 to 2005.
He continued to lead peace efforts in Sri Lanka as Minister, and has contributed to peace processes in Sudan, Nepal, Myanmar and Burundi. In addition to his career as a Minister and at the OECD, Solheim has served as UN Environment’s Special Envoy for Environment, Conflict and Disaster since 2013 and a Patron of Nature for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 2012. Solheim holds a degree in history and social studies from the University of Oslo.