Yury Fedotov

Mr. Yury Fedotov of the Russian Federation was appointed by the Secretary-General to the position of Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV) on 9 July 2010. He holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Mr. Fedotov is a member of the UN Systems Chief Executive Board, an instrument of cooperation and coordination among the bodies of the United Nations. He also represents UNODC at the Global Migration Group, an inter-agency group that meets at the level of heads of agencies. In the areas of drugs and crime, Mr. Fedotov is the Co-chair of the Principals meetings of the UN Task Force on Transnational Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking. Created by the Secretary General in June 2011 the Task Force is designed to ensure an effective and comprehensive approach within the UN system when addressing these challenges. As Executive Director of UNODC, Mr. Fedotov has encouraged countering drug trafficking based on building regional initiatives and providing technical assistance, while also promoting a balanced approach to solving drug demand. He has called on Member States to ratify and implement all UN Conventions on drugs, crime and corruption. Mr. Fedotov is closely involved in promoting the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, which is managed by UNODC, as well as the Blue Heart Campaign against human trafficking. Prior to becoming Director General/Executive Director of UNOV/UNODC, Mr. Fedotov served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Court of St. James's in London for five years. Before that, from 2002 to 2005, he was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for International Organizations. As a member or head of Russian delegations he took part in many international conferences and forums such as sessions of the General Assembly, ECOSOC, UN Commission on Human Rights, UNIDO, UNESCO, WFP, UN ECE, ESCAP etc. In his personal capacity, he was also a member of the College of Commissioners of the UN Commission on Monitoring and Verifications in Iraq (UNMOVIC). Mr. Fedotov was Director of the Department of International Organizations, Member of the Board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation from 1999 to 2002. Mr. Fedotov started his foreign service in 1972 as a member of the USSR delegation to the United Nations Disarmament Committee in Geneva. He subsequently took up a number of diplomatic assignments in Moscow, as well as at the Embassies in Algeria and India. He graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), speaks fluent English and French and has a basic knowledge of German.