Taleb Rifai: Difference between revisions
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Mr. Rifai is Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). He served his first term as Secretary-General between 2010 and 2013. He was elected for a second four-year term, starting in January 2014, by the 20th Session of UNWTO General Assembly. |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}} |
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{{Globalize|date=November 2009}} |
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{{BLP sources|date=November 2009}} |
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From March to December 2009 he was UNWTO Secretary-General ad interim. From February 2006 to February 2009 he was Deputy Secretary-General. |
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'''Taleb Rifai''' (born 1949) is the current Secretary-General of the [[United Nation]]'s [[World Tourism Organization]], based in [[Madrid|Madrid, Spain]],<ref name=UNWTO1>{{cite web|last=United Nations|first=World Tourism Organization|title=UNWTO|url=http://www2.unwto.org/en/content/taleb-d-rifai|publisher=UNWTO|accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> where he has held the post since being unanimously elected in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taleb-rifai|title=Taleb Rifai|date=2 December 2012|publisher=Huffington Post|accessdate=29 January 2014}}</ref> Rifai was born in [[Jordan]] in 1949. He is married and has 5 children.<ref name=UNWTO1 /> |
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From January 2003 to February 2006, Mr. Rifai was the Assistant Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO). |
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==Professional background== |
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Prior to this appointment, Mr. Rifai served in several ministerial portfolios in the Government of Jordan as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities; Minister of Information; and, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation. |
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===Early career=== |
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During his term as Minister of Tourism, Mr. Rifai served as Chairman of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). |
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After completing his B.S. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Cairo in 1973, Rifai went on to attain a master's degree in Engineering and Architecture from the [[Illinois Institute of Technology]] (IIT) in [[Chicago]], [[United States]] in 1979. In 1983, he received his PhD in Urban Design and Regional Planning from the [[University of Pennsylvania]].<ref name=UNWTO1 /> |
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From 1997 to 2000, he was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Jordan Cement Company, one of the largest public shareholding companies in Jordan; and directed the first large-scale privatization and restructuring scheme in Jordan. Mr. Rifai was also actively involved in policy making and developing investment strategies in his capacity as Director General of the Investment Promotion Corporation (IPC) in Jordan (1995-1997). |
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From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Rifai headed Jordan’s first Economic Mission to Washington DC, promoting trade, investments, and economic relations between Jordan and the USA. |
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In the three years preceding his service in the Jordanian Cabinet, he was appointed the CEO of Jordan’s Cement Company,<ref name=UNWTO2>{{cite web|url=http://www2.unwto.org/es/node/40189|title=Taleb Rifai|publisher=unwto.org|accessdate=29 January 2014}}</ref> one of the country’s largest public shareholding companies with over 4,000 employees.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} During his term he successfully led the first large-scale privatization and restructuring scheme in Jordan, by bringing in the French cement company [[Lafarge]] in 1998 and continued to serve as CEO under the new [[Lafarge]] management.<ref name=BY>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebusinessyear.com/vip_interview/2040/taleb-rifai|title=VIP Interview, Taleb Rifai|publisher=The Business Year|date=May 2013|accessdate=29 January 2014}}</ref> From 1999 to 2003, he served in several ministerial portfolios in the Government of Jordan. First, he was appointed Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, in charge of Jordan’s Development Agenda and bilateral and multilateral relationships with donors and agencies.<ref name=UNWTO2 /> He was subsequently appointed Minister of Information, the spokesman of the Government of Jordan, as well as being in charge of communications and public media. During his tenure, he embarked on restructuring public media and in particular the Jordan Television Network.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} |
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Mr. Rifai began his career as Professor of Architecture, Planning and Urban Design at the University of Jordan from 1973-1993. He received his Ph.D. in Urban Design and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia – USA (1983); and a MSc. in Engineering and Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago – USA (1979). He also attained a B.Sc. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Cairo in 1973. |
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In 2001, his portfolio was expanded to include the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquity, where he established Jordan’s first Archaeological Park in the ancient city of Petra in collaboration with [[UNESCO]] and the [[World Bank]]. He also realized several large projects in Jerash, the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/30911-Ex-Jordanian-Tourism-Minister-wins-bid-to-head-UNWTO|title=Taleb Rifai|publisher=Travel Daily News|date= |accessdate=8 November 2009}}</ref> As Minister of Tourism, he was the Chairman of the Jordan Tourism Board, President of the Amman School for Tourism and Hospitality and was elected Chairman of the Executive Council of UNWTO in 2001.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} |
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Mr. Rifai is a Jordanian national born in 1949. He is married and has five children. |
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Prior to assuming his current post, Taleb Rifai was the Assistant Director-General of the [[International Labor Organization]] (ILO) for three consecutive years. His responsibilities included the overall supervision and implementation of the International Labor Standards, as well as advising on labor markets and employment policies, particularly in the Middle East region.<ref name=UNWTO2 /> |
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===UNWTO=== |
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He served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization from February 2006 to February 2009, at which point he took over the role of Secretary-General ad interim on 1 March 2009. Rifai was selected as the official candidate to be presented to entire 155 member inter-governmental body on 12 May 2009, receiving 20 out of 31 votes. Korean Dr. Oh Jee-Chul, from the [[Korea Tourism Organization]] (KTO), received 10 out of the 11 remaining votes, with the final single vote being given to Mr. Khalid Malik, the Pakistani UN Resident Coordinator in China. The fourth candidate, Mr. Arab Hoballah, the Chief of Sustainable Consumption and Production in the UN Environment Program of Lebanon, withdrew. In October 2009, Rifai was unanimously elected by the entire body, and began his four-year term on 1 January 2010.<ref name=UNWTO1 /> |
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====Issues in the 2009 elections==== |
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Towards the end of the campaign, the media raised the question of bribery by the Korean government, suggesting that the Koreans had attempted to put pressure on voting member countries which had economic weaknesses.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} UNWTO sources said the election turned into a "nasty showdown" when Dr Oh launched a strong attack, alleging poor corporate governance and assorted other wrongdoings in the UNWTO. The undiplomatic attack caught everyone off guard, and forced Dr Rifai to set aside his prepared election statement and go into a point by point rebuttal.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} |
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"It was quite a tense moment,” said one source familiar with the proceedings in what was a closed meeting. "It seems to have backfired on Dr Oh with at least a few council members switching their votes at the last minute." The source said Dr Rifai was confident of winning with a tally of at least 18 votes but picked up two more than he expected. The vote is held by secret ballot.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} |
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After the vote, Dr Rifai said in his acceptance speech that he would seek to heal wounds by making Korea the first country he would visit. In turn, Dr Oh congratulated Dr Rifai for winning the nomination, but left Mali along with an entourage of more than 20 Korean representatives immediately after the election.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} |
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===Current position=== |
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As UNWTO Secretary General, the first trips he made were directed to Korea to 'heal the wounds' that the Koreans had due to the loss in the elections.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} He has proceeded with actions to prevent Mexican economy to get hurt by the relation that people make with the swine flu.<ref>{{cite web|last=Alcantara |first=Nelson |url=http://www.eturbonews.com/9498/unwto-head-taleb-rifai-let-s-go-mexico |title=Exclusive Interview – listen to it online UNWTO head Taleb Rifai: Let’s go to Mexico! |publisher=Eturbonews.com |date=27 May 2009 |accessdate=25 November 2012}}</ref> In 2013, Mr. Rifai was re-elected as UNWTO Secretary General, and will serve in that capacity through 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rciventures.com/unwto-re-elects-secretary-general-rifai/|title=UNWTO Re-elects Secretary-General Rifai|publisher=RCI Ventures|date=3 September 3, 2013|last=McDaniel|first=Daniel}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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unwto.org |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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Revision as of 08:01, 3 February 2014
Mr. Rifai is Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). He served his first term as Secretary-General between 2010 and 2013. He was elected for a second four-year term, starting in January 2014, by the 20th Session of UNWTO General Assembly.
From March to December 2009 he was UNWTO Secretary-General ad interim. From February 2006 to February 2009 he was Deputy Secretary-General.
From January 2003 to February 2006, Mr. Rifai was the Assistant Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Rifai served in several ministerial portfolios in the Government of Jordan as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities; Minister of Information; and, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.
During his term as Minister of Tourism, Mr. Rifai served as Chairman of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
From 1997 to 2000, he was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Jordan Cement Company, one of the largest public shareholding companies in Jordan; and directed the first large-scale privatization and restructuring scheme in Jordan. Mr. Rifai was also actively involved in policy making and developing investment strategies in his capacity as Director General of the Investment Promotion Corporation (IPC) in Jordan (1995-1997).
From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Rifai headed Jordan’s first Economic Mission to Washington DC, promoting trade, investments, and economic relations between Jordan and the USA.
Mr. Rifai began his career as Professor of Architecture, Planning and Urban Design at the University of Jordan from 1973-1993. He received his Ph.D. in Urban Design and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia – USA (1983); and a MSc. in Engineering and Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago – USA (1979). He also attained a B.Sc. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Cairo in 1973.
Mr. Rifai is a Jordanian national born in 1949. He is married and has five children.
References
unwto.org