New York, 5 October (Global Compact Office) – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today named Prof. Klaus M. Leisinger, President of the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development, as his new Special Advisor on the Global Compact. Professor Leisinger will act as a global ambassador of the Global Compact and advance critical issue areas relevant to the initiative.

A native of Germany, Klaus M. Leisinger has been President and CEO of the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development since 2002. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Director and delegate of the foundation’s Board of Trustees. He is also Professor of Development Sociology at the University of Basel and serves as advisor to various national and international organizations dealing with sustainable development. In 1994 he was elected member of the European Academy of Science and Arts. In recognition of his work, Professor Leisinger was awarded an honorary doctorate in Theology by the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) in November 2004.

Prior to joining the Novartis Foundation, Professor Leisinger served as manager of Ciba Pharmaceuticals in East Africa and headed the company’s department for developing-country relations in Basel. He studied economics and social sciences at the University of Basel, Switzerland.

For information in German, please read the article in the Basler Zeitung