Mr Pronk was recently in the spotlight during the negotiations in preparation for and at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Appointed as Special Adviser for the WSSD by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mr. Pronk skillfully moderated the discussion on the priority « WEHAB » themes of Water and Sanitation, Health, Environment and Biodiversity at the Johannesburg Summit.

Born in The Hague in 1940, Mr. Pronk was a member of the Lower House of Parliament for the Labour Party several times during the period from 1971-1989 and was its first deputy Chairman from 1986-1989. Mr. Pronk also had a distinguished career with the United Nations serving as Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD (1980-1985) and Assistant Secretary-General of the UN (1985-86). He was appointed Minister for Development Co-operation three times under different government administations before he was appointed Minister for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the second Kok government in 1998.

He studied Economics at the School of Economics in Rotterdam and lectured at the School of Economics Developing Programming Centre and the Netherlands Economic Institute in Rotterdam. He was extraodinary professor of the theory and practice of international development policy at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague fron 1979 to 1980 and in 1989 he occupied the Den Uyl Chair (endowed by the Wiardi Beckman Foundation) at the University of Amsterdam.

Mr. Pronk will succeed the outgoing Chair, Sir Richard Jolly, who has successfully led and served at the helm of the Collaborative Council since 1997. The first Chair of the WSSCC was Ms. Margaret Catley-Carlson, now the Chair of the Global Water Parnership.

The WSSCC is an international organization that was set up in 1990 through a mandate by the United Nations General Assembly to maintain the momentum of the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981-1990). Numbering over 2000, its members, comprising professionals from 140 countries are working to make safe water, adequate sanitation a reality for everyone. It’s Secretariat is located in Geneva and is headed by Mr. Gourisankar Ghosh, Executive Director.

Mr. Pronk will be participating in a number of events at the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto (16-23 March) including three dialogues to be held from 16-17 March, at the Kyoto International Conference Hall. For more information about the WSSCC, check its website at www.wsscc.org
For interviews, please contact: Ms. Eirah Gorre-Dale, New York, USA Tel.+1(917) 367-2420; E-mail: gorre-dale@un.org
At WWF3, Japan cellphone no.+81 090-6956-3293 OR c/o Kyoto Nikko Princess Hotel, Tel.+81-75-342-2111; Fax: +81-75-342-2410.