Elizabeth Mrema

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema is Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). From 2020 to 2022, she served as the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Before that, she held key roles as the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Acting Executive Secretary of the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas, and Interim Executive Secretary of the UNEP/Gorilla Agreement. A lawyer and career diplomat, she has earned numerous accolades, including the Nicolas Robinson Award for Excellence in Environmental Law from the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law in 2021 and the Kew International Award in 2022. In 2023, she was recognized in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People list and the Financial Times' 25 Most Influential Women list.