Omar E. EL-ARINI (Board Member, 2014-present)

Omar E. El-Arini, Egypt, was the first Chief Officer of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (1991 – 2003). In recognition of his remarkable contribution to the work of the Multilateral Fund, Mr. El-Arini was named “Honorary Chief Officer of the Multilateral Fund”.  He is also the recipient of several international awards in the field of the environment.

Prior to joining the Multilateral Fund, he held research positions in Egypt, Germany and the Netherlands. He also held senior positions in the Government of Egypt, as well as teaching positions in Cairo University and the American University in Cairo.

As a World Bank consultant, Mr. El-Arini assisted the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in setting up the Adaptation Fund of the Kyoto Protocol.

He was also a member of the Transitional Committee for the design of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and in this capacity worked with other developing country members of the Transitional Committee in preparing and negotiating the final governing instrument of the GCF that was adopted at COP17 in Durban. He was a former Board Member of the Green Climate Fund, representing Africa for the period 2012-2015.

Mr. El-Arini is also a senior advisor to his Government in the areas of the environment and the conservation of Egypt’s national patrimony, and is a member of the board of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency.

He obtained his Bachelor of Science from Ain Shams University (Egypt), a Master of Science from the University of Missouri (USA), and a Ph.D. from Imperial College of Science and Technology and Medicine (UK).