Taleb Rifai

Taleb Rifai (born 1949) is a Jordanian businessman and politician, who was the Secretary-General of the United Nations' World Tourism Organization between 2010 and 2017. He was the first Jordanian to hold a UN agency Secretary General position.

Professional background

Early career

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. one of the country's largest public shareholding companies with over 4,000 employees. 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. 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. 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. In his Statement of Intent and Management for the period 2014–2017, Rifai expressed his sense of gratitude and accomplishment looking back at his first term as UNWTO Secretary-General, and outlined the focus for his current term: Travel and Tourism's contributions and responsibilities in a rapidly changing global scene, UNWTO leading the Travel and Tourism Agenda, and the assessment of the reform process UNWTO underwent between 2009 and 2013. Zurab Pololikashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Andorra, was appointed as Rifai's successor as Secretary General of the UNWTO for the period 2018–2021.

Current Positions

Member of Advisory Council - Air B&B Ambassador - World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Member of Board of Trustees - Mediterranean Tourism Foundation (MTF) Patron - African Tourism Board (ATB) Chairman - International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT) Chairman - The International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC) Chairman - United Nations Institute for Training & Research (UNITAR), CIFAL Malaga Co-Chairman - International Tourism Resilience & Crises Management (ICTRCM) Vice Chairman - Board of Trustees - Middle East University (MEU) Vice Chairman - International Sports & Tourism Organization (ISTO) Special Advisor - Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA)

Honours