Jorge Manuel Lopes Moreira da Silva GOIH (born 24 April 1971 in

Vila Nova de Famalicão Vila Nova de Famalicão () is a Portuguese town with a population of approximately 133,048 inhabitants () in an area of 201,59 km2, subdivided into 49 parishes (Administrative Division of 11 Unions of Parishes and 23 Parish Councils,). Insert ...

) is a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

serving as the Executive Director of the

United Nations Office for Project Services The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is a United Nations agency dedicated to implementing infrastructure and procurement projects for the United Nations System, international financial institutions, governments and other partne ...

, UNOPS, since 2023. During his political career as an elected official, Moreira da Silva was member of the Portuguese Parliament and

member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

. Between 2003 and 2005 he was secretary of State for Science and Higher Education under Prime Minister

José Manuel Durão Barroso José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

and Secretary of State for the Environment and Territorial Planning under Prime Minister

Pedro Santana Lopes Pedro Miguel de Santana Lopes GCC (; born 29 June 1956) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician, who is the current president of the Municipal Chamber of Figueira da Foz. He most notably served as prime minister of Portugal from 2004 to 2005. ...

. He went on to become

minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

, Territorial Planning and

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

from 2013 to 2015 in the governments led by

Pedro Passos Coelho Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho (; born 24 July 1964) is a Portuguese politician and university guest lecturer who was the 118th prime minister of Portugal, in office from 2011 to 2015. He was the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) b ...

. From 2016 to 2022 he was director of the Development Co-operation Directorate at

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

. An international expert on

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

carbon finance Carbon finance is a branch of environmental finance that covers financial tools such as carbon emission trading to reduce the impact of greenhouse gases (GHG) on the environment by giving carbon emissions a price. Financial risks and opportuniti ...

, energy,

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

and

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...

, Moreira da Silva has been a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

on development, climate change, energy, environment, humanitarian aid, conflict and fragility and carbon markets at several Portuguese and international universities and institutions, namely Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto,

Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas The ''Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas'' (ISCSP) (Institute of Social and Political Sciences) is part of the University of Lisbon (ULisboa). It was known in the early 20th century as the Colonial School, when it was run by the ...

and

Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...

. He was member of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

's High-Level Group on Research, Innovation, and Science Policy (RISE) and was also a member of the advisory committee of CIRCLE (Climate Impact Research Coordination for a Larger Europe). He served as senior advisor to the

President of the Portuguese Republic The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

, consultant to the

and to the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

and Vice-President of GLOBE-Europe.http://www.globe-europe.eu

Political career

Early beginnings

From 1995 to 1998, Moreira da Silva was the leader of

Juventude Social Democrata The Social Democratic Party ( pt, Partido Social Democrata, ; PSD) is a liberal-conservative political party in Portugal. Commonly known by its colloquial initials PSD, on ballot papers its initials appear as its official form PPD/PSD, with th ...

, the youth organization of the PSD. He is also the founder (2011) and chairman of the Lisbon-based think-tank Plataforma para o Crescimento Sustentável - Platform for a Sustainable Growth.

Member of the European Parliament, 1999–2003

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

, Moreira da Silva served on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy. In this capacity, he was the Standing Draftsman on

and he authored the Report and the political agreement on the EU GHG Emissions Trading Directive in 2003, the world's largest carbon market.

Secretary of State on Science and Higher Education, 2003–2004

Moreira da Silva was Secretary of State on Science and Higher Education, at the XV Government led by Prime Minister

Secretary of State on Environment and Spatial Planning, 2004–2005

Moreira da Silva was Secretary of State on Environment and Spatial Planning, at the XVI Government led by Prime Minister

Career within the PSD

In April 2010, Moreira da Silva worked as elected Vice-President of the national board of the Social Democratic Party and between 2012 and 2016 he was the First Vice-President and Standing Coordinator of the

, chaired by

Minister on Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy, 2013–2015

As Minister on Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy, from 2013 to 2015, Moreira da Silva was responsible for energy, water, waste, spatial planning and housing sector structural reforms in Portugal. Under his leadership, Portugal adopted a comprehensive Green Taxation Reform and the Portuguese Green Growth Commitment. Also during his tenure, the Portuguese government named SUMA, a consortium led by the country’s

Mota-Engil Mota-Engil is a Portuguese group in the sectors of civil construction, public works, port operations, waste, water, and logistics. The chairman of the board of directors is António Mota and Gonçalo Moura Martins is the company's CEO. Jorge Co ...

construction company, as the winning bidder in the privatization of waste management firm EGF with an offer of 149.9 million euros ($193 million) in 2014. In 2015, he agreed to sell the operating rights for the

Lisbon Oceanarium The Lisbon Oceanarium ( pt, Oceanário de Lisboa, ) is an oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal. It is located in the '' Parque das Nações'', which was the exhibition grounds for the Expo '98. It is one of the largest indoor aquariums in Europe. Arc ...

to Sociedade Francisco Manuel dos Santos for a larger-than-expected 114 million euros ($127 million). In 2014, Moreira da Silva helped oversee the government’s response to an

outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

Legionnaires’ disease Legionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of ''Legionella'' bacteria, quite often '' Legionella pneumophila''. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, muscle pains, and headaches. Naus ...

that killed twelve people and infected over 300, making it one of the world’s largest ever outbreaks. During his mandate as Minister he also led the reform of the water services sector, the

spatial planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...

reform, the

demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

of illegal buildings on the

coastline The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

and the reintroduction of the

Iberian lynx The Iberian lynx (''Lynx pardinus'') is a wild cat species endemic to the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. In the 20th century, the Iberian lynx population had declined because of overhun ...

Career in international organizations

United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, 2009-2012

From 2009 to 2012, Moreira da Silva was Senior Environmental Finance Advisor and Program Manager for Climate Change Innovative Finance at the Bureau for Policy Development at the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(UNDP). At UNDP, he worked on the post-2012 climate change negotiations, on the establishment of innovative financing strategies on

climate change and energy In the 21st century, the earth's climate and its energy policy interact and their relationship is studied and governed by a variety of national and international institutions. The relationships between energy-resource depletion, climate change, ...

, and on the development of climate change market-based mechanisms.

OECD, 2016–2022

As Director of the

Development Co-operation Directorate, from 2016 to 2022, Moreira da Silva led the Secretariat of the

Development Assistance Committee The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a forum to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes itself as being the ...

, DAC. During his mandate, the

Official Development Assistance Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure aid, foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in ...

(ODA) reached successive all-time highs in 2020 (USD 161 Billion) and 2021 (USD 185 Billion) and he led the design and negotiation of new DAC standards on: Ending

Sexual Exploitation Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor, reducing a person to a s ...

, Abuse, and Harassment in Development Co-operation; enhancing coordination of the

Humanitarian-Development Nexus The Humanitarian-Development Nexus is the concept of increased collaboration between organizations working in short term humanitarian aid and long term international development promoted since 2016. The concept is supported by European governme ...

; enabling

Civil Society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Blended Finance Blended finance is defined "as the strategic use of development finance and philanthropic funds to mobilize private capital flows to emerging and frontier markets", resulting in positive results for both investors and communities. Blended finance ...

Principles and Guidance; framework on

SDG The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

aligned finance;

Impact Investing Impact investing refers to investing, investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is ...

Standards for Financing

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

; decision to align development co-operation with the goals of the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...

(that ended new ODA for unabated international thermal coal power generation in 2021). He also led the development of a new development finance measurement tool, the Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD). During his time at

he coordinated more than 500 reports in topics such as

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

multilateralism In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal. Definitions Multilateralism, in the form of membership in international institutions, serves to bind powerful nations, discourage u ...

, development finance,

blended finance Blended finance is defined "as the strategic use of development finance and philanthropic funds to mobilize private capital flows to emerging and frontier markets", resulting in positive results for both investors and communities. Blended finance ...

impact investing Impact investing refers to investing, investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is ...

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

, fragility, digitalisation,

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

illicit financial flows Illicit financial flows, in economics, are a form of illegal capital flight that occurs when money is illegally earned, transferred, or spent. This money is intended to disappear from any record in the country of origin, and earnings on the stock of ...

inequality Inequality may refer to: Economics * Attention inequality, unequal distribution of attention across users, groups of people, issues in etc. in attention economy * Economic inequality, difference in economic well-being between population groups * ...

and

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

and fight against

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

. In April 2022, Moreira da Silva announced his departure from OECD and his candidacy for the post as PSD chair. In the

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

, he was defeated by

Luís Montenegro Luís Filipe Montenegro Cardoso de Morais Esteves (born 16 February 1973) is a Portuguese politician who is the President of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). He was a member of the Assembly of the Republic from the Aveiro District from 2002 ...

, who had won all the districts in the country.

United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), 2023–present

In 2023,

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...

appointed Moreira da Silva as

Executive Director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of the

(UNOPS) with the rank of

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under ...

Honours

Commander of the

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(11 September 2007) * PRT_Order_of_Prince_Henry_-_Grand_Officer_BAR

Grande Officer of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(21 April 2009)

References

External links

OECD BiographyPortuguese Parliament biographyPortuguese Government XX Cabinet - Minister biographyPortuguese Government XIX Cabinet - Minister biographyPortuguese Government XVI Cabinet - compositionPortuguese Government XV Cabinet - compositionEuropean Parliament biographyPlatform for Sustainable Growth biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Jorge Moreira Da Living people 1971 births Social Democratic Party (Portugal) politicians MEPs for Portugal 1999–2004 Social Democratic Party (Portugal) MEPs Members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) People from Vila Nova de Famalicão