Mr. Gerd Müller (Germany) has been formally appointed as Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), effective December 10, 2021.

“I am very happy to take up my duties as UNIDO’s new Director General today. I am grateful for the helpful support of my predecessor Li Yong during the past months,” said Müller.

He has had various leadership positions from an early stage in his career. Following his tenure as a Member of the European Parliament, he was appointed Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in 2005. In 2013, he was appointed Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in the German Government. Gerd Müller has many years of experience in the fields of multilateral cooperation, sustainability, sustainable management and innovative agriculture. Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on climate action, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Beijing Declaration on Gender Equality are key focus areas of his work.

According to Gerd Müller, UNIDO has a unique mandate: it is the only international organization to have industrial development and the pursuit of SDG 9 at its core. The Director General is passionate about promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID), accelerating achievement of SDG 9, fostering interlinkages with other SDGs and the objectives of the Paris Agreement, and forging a new global alliance for inclusive and sustainable industrial development. He is honoured to establish UNIDO as a leading UN agency in promoting a green transition and recovery and fostering resilient, inclusive and sustainable industrial development that ensures the survival of humankind and respects planetary boundaries. He also stands for a renewed partnership between developing countries, emerging economies and industrialized countries, especially through a stronger commitment by industrialized countries.

More details about the new Director General