Who heads up the UNODC and what are his qualifications?
The Secretary-General has appointed Antonio Maria Costa (Italy) as the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and as the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna. Mr. Costa joins the UN from his position as Secretary-General of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London. Mr. Costa was born on 16 June 1941 in Mondovi, Italy. He holds a degree in political science from the University of Turin and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. From 1969 to 1983, Mr. Costa served as an economist in the United Nations Department of International Economics and Social Affairs and eventually became Head of Unit. He was subsequently appointed Under-Secretary-General (Special Counselor) at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris where he served until 1987. He served at the Commission of the European Union between 1987 and 1992, rising to the post of Director-Genera
