Dr Carlos Lopes, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), will bring his experience and knowledge of the continent to bear on Oxford research and collaboration when he joins the Oxford Martin School as a Visiting Fellow in February 2017.

Dr Lopes has a wealth of academic research and teaching experience in the fields of development and strategic planning, has authored or edited more than 20 books and taught at academic institutions in Lisbon, Coimbra, Zurich, Uppsala, Mexico, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. His visit will enable the School to strengthen its understanding of Africa’s political and economic contexts, vital to its work on the most urgent challenges of the 21st century.

Dr Lopes said: “I am greatly looking forward to engaging with innovative, world-leading research in Oxford, and to helping to forge a new and productive dialogue that will benefit academic institutions both in Africa and Oxford.”

During his Visiting Fellowship, Dr Lopes will be conducting research for several book projects, and will also be contributing to the Africa Oxford Initiative, a new platform which brings together academics from across the University and from many African institutions to build equitable collaborations in all academic disciplines.

“We’re very excited to welcome Dr Lopes to the School,” said Achim Steiner, Director of the Oxford Martin School. “The School’s outlook is a global one and we know that Africa’s future – its industrialisation, geopolitical role as well economy and resources - will be of growing significance, globally.

“Dr Lopes’ profound experience of Africa as well economic policy and international relations will be invaluable as we seek to deepen our understanding of the development choices and pathways of this diverse continent over the coming decades."

Dr Lopes has had a distinguished career with the United Nations, having occupied various prominent positions such as Representative in Zimbabwe and Brazil, Director for Development Policy at the UN Development Program, Director of the UN System Staff College, Political Director for Secretary General Kofi Annan, Assistant Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Institute for Training and Research, before leading the ECA for the last four years.

He is affiliated with a number of academic networks, and has helped establish various non-governmental organizations and centres for social research, in particular in Africa. In 2008 he was elected to the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, Portugal. Dr Lopes currently serves as Member of Governing Boards or advisory and editorial committees to several institutions including the Geneva Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies, and the Lisbon University Institute, which he chairs.

Dr Lopes holds a PhD in history from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and a research masters from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies on economic development. He has also received honorary doctorates from the University of Cândido Mendes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Hawassa University, Ethiopia.

He will be sharing his time with a Visiting Professorship at the Faculty of Commerce, Graduate School of Development and Policy Practice at the University of Cape Town, and serving the Global Commission on Economy and Climate and the Steering Group helping the African Union reform, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame.