CEC | June 19, 2003 Montreal, 19 - The Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is pleased to announce the appointment of William V. Kennedy, Ph.D., to a three-year term as the new Executive Director of the Secretariat of the CEC. The term will begin on 2 September 2003.
The CEC was created under the environmental side-agreement to NAFTA, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. Its leadership Council is composed of the top environmental ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States. The current ministers are: David Anderson, Canada's Minister of the Environment; Victor Lichtinger, Mexico's Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources; and Christine Todd Whitman, Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
As Executive Director of the CEC Secretariat, Dr. Kennedy will manage a staff of 51, and a budget of US$9 million. He will lead the Secretariat as the Commission for Environmental Cooperation begins its second decade of facilitating cooperation to address important North American environmental issues in the context of increasing economic and trade links between Canada, Mexico and the United States. The headquarters of the CEC Secretariat are located in Montreal.
Dr. Kennedy has held top international environmental policy and management positions through most of his career. Since 1991, he has served in a number of senior positions at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London, United Kingdom, most recently as Head of Environmental Policy and Strategy. He served as Global Environmental Projects Manager in the Directorate General for International Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, Netherlands, from 1990 to 1991. Dr.. Kennedy has also worked as a Senior Program Officer for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya, and with the Environment Directorate of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France.
Dr. Kennedy holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany, and a masters degree in political science from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. He is fluent in English, French, German, Dutch, and Russian, and has some knowledge of Spanish.
The appointment of Dr. Kennedy follows an extensive candidate search. In naming Dr. Kennedy, Council members expressed great confidence in the benefits Dr. Kennedy's experience and expertise will bring to the CEC Secretariat. The decision reflects the Council's interest in providing the organization with strong leadership, commitment and stability as it continues its work to conserve, protect and improve the environment in North America.
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation is an international organization mandated to address North American regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and promote effective enforcement of environmental law. The CEC mission underscores the importance of public participation to foster conservation of the North American environment.CEC:
