Bio

Taleb Rifai was the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, heading the (UNWTO) from 2009 for two consecutive terms, ending in January 2018. Mr. Rifai has an extensive background in international and national public service, the private sector and academia. Before his election as Secretary General of the UNWTO, he was Assistant Director General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), based in Beirut and Geneva. Prior to assuming his responsibilities as an International public servant (2004 - 2018) in Beirut, Geneva, (ILO) and Madrid (UNWTO), Mr Rifai held several Ministerial portfolios in the Government of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (2000 - 2004). First as Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, then Minister of Information and spokesman for the Government and finally, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. As Minister of information, he led the major restructuring of Jordan Television (JTV). Prior to his ministerial responsibilities, Mr Rifai was CEO of Jordan’s Cement Company (1997-1999). As CEO of Jordan’s Cement Company, he successfully led the first large-scale privatization and restructuring scheme in Jordan during the 1990s, when the French company Lafarge became the major partner at JCC. From 1995 to 1997, he was the first Director General of the newly established Investment Promotion Corporation of Jordan, after having served from 1993 to 1995 as the Director of the newly established Economic Mission of Jordan to the USA in Washington DC. As an Architect and Urban planner, Mr. Rifai’s career for 20 years (1973-1993) was in Academia. He had the opportunity to teach at universities both in the USA and Jordan. He was one of the main founders of the first Department of Architecture in Jordan at the newly established School of Engineering at the University of Jordan. Later he became the Director of “The Centre of Consultations and Studies” at this university. Mr Rifai has a PhD in Urban Design and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA, 1982; an M.A. in Engineering and Architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology, IIT in Chicago, USA, 1979; and a BSc in Architectural Engineering from the University of Cairo in Egypt 1973.