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INTERNATIONAL

Interview with

Christian

Friis Bach

Executive Secretary, Under-Secretary-General
4
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

UNECE is an unpolished pearl

according to Christian Friis Bach, who was appointed as Executive Secretary in July 2014.
For almost seventy years this organization has been struggling to make life easier for most of us
through the adoption of its different conventions and standards. Did you know that the experts sitting
in the UNECE have been involved in standards regarding air pollution, transport, car safety and road

signs? Neither did we until we were lucky enough to meet Mr Friis Bach, who is determined to make
us all understand that without UNECE life would be rather more complicated

Q: You come from a diverse back- that we deal with in UNECE. Then to international issues combating
ground - journalism, economics, I have also been involved in politics, poverty and creating peace.
politics, international develop- and I think that it is there that you
ment and now Executive Secretary learn to manoeuvre and find ways to Q: What made you engage in all this?
of UNECE. Do you think these dif- get things done by shaping alliances Was it out of curiosity?
ferent professions have given you and negotiations.
some advantages in your current Partly out of curiosity and partly out
job? I also have a background in agrono- of pure coincidence. I have never had
my and chemistry, which helps me to a fixed career plan. I still deal with a
In some ways it has been a long jour- understand the complicated chemi- lot of young people - interns and
ney taking on all these different posi- cal processes that shape climate they ask me for advice. How did you
tions, but they have provided me with change. I have almost a personal re- get here? I cannot give them a spe-
elements of knowledge that I attempt lationship to agricultural standards cific recipe on how to conduct their
to use every day. I have tried to start from my time as a farmer. I have career, but I can tell them that if you
two private companies and struggled done my Ph.D. on how you add to- engage in whatever you do, it can
with that for two years. That experi- gether tariff rates on international take you far. I believe I have done that
ence has given me a lot of respect for trade, and therefore I think I have throughout my whole career. I spent
innovation, entrepreneurship and some understanding about our work substantial time as a youth riding
the private sector, and what it really and linkages to world trade. Both around the streets of Denmark on a
takes to achieve economic growth. under the skill set and the content I bicycle promoting fair-trade coffee. I
I have been in journalism too, so I believe that my background can be was behind the establishment of Max
think I have perspectives on how we useful in my present position. From Havelaar, the fair-trade initiative for
can communicate with a wider audi- time to time I think that if I had fo- coffee in Denmark. I spent almost
ence, something that is much needed cused a little more on one specific one whole year on this matter. This
in the United Nations. I have been issue, I would have gained more ex- led me to another step. During my
a professor at university, which per- perience, but my broad background research I became fascinated by the
haps taught me a bit about how to dig is something I benefit from every study of tariff rates. Most people are
into substance and understand some day. What has unified my career is not very interested in this topic, but
of the serious and difficult matters that almost all of it has been linked I was - absolutely fascinated by it.

6 DIVA - INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT