BIOGRAPHY
Mr Michel Sidibé
Executive Director of UNAIDS
UnderSecretaryGeneral of the United Nations
Since his appointment as Executive Director of UNAIDS and
UnderSecretaryGeneral of the United Nations by Secretary
General Ban Kimoon in 2009, Michel Sidibé’s vision of zero new
HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDSrelated deaths
has echoed around the world.
Under his leadership UNAIDS works to ensure that no one is left
behind in the response to HIV and that everyone in need has
access to lifesaving HIV services. He initiated the global call to
eliminate HIV infections among children and his global advocacy
has firmly secured HIV at the top of political agendas. His idea of
shared responsibility and global solidarity has been embraced by
the international community and has encouraged increased ownership of their epidemics by
countries most affected.
Mr Sidibé has spent more than 30 years in public service. His passion for advancing global
health began in his native Mali, where he worked to improve the health and welfare of the
nomadic Tuareg people. He later became Country Director for Terre des Hommes. In 1987,
Mr Sidibé joined UNICEF in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and went on to serve with
UNICEF for a further 14 years, overseeing programmes across 10 francophone African
countries and serving as country representative in a number of countries.
Mr Sidibé has been awarded honorary doctorates from Tuskegee University, Clark University
and the University of British Columbia, as well as an honorary professorship at Stellenbosch
University. In 2012 he was named one of the 50 most influential Africans by the Africa Report
and one of 50 personalities of the year by the French newspaper Le Monde in 2009. He
received the Emerging Leader Award from the UN Foundation and the United Nations
Association of the USA, is a Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France, an
Officer of the National Order of Mali, an Officer of the National Order of Benin, a Chancellor of
the National Order of Chad and was awarded an Order of SaintCharles by Monaco. He also
serves on the Global Board of Directors of Grassroot Soccer.
He holds two PostMaster’s Diplomas––Social Planning and Demography––and Development
and Political Economy––from the University of Blaise Pascal, ClermontFerrand, France. He
also holds a Master’s degree in economics.
Mr Sidibé is fluent in English and French and speaks several African languages. He is married
and has four children.
2030 | Ending the AIDS epidemic