Mr. Petteri Taalas
Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization
Professor Taalas is the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He was elected in May 2015 for a mandate running from 2016 to 2019. He was born in 1961 in Helsinki, Finland. He holds a PhD in Meteorology (Helsinki University, Physics Department 1993, University of Eastern Finland: meteorology, physics, physical chemistry and international development).
Before joining WMO he was the Director-General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) 2002-2005, 2007-2015 (National weather, climate and marine Institute).
He has also held positions in international development and scientific fields:
● Director of Development and Regional Activities Department of WMO 2005-2007
● Research professor on Remote Sensing/FMI 2000-2002
● Senior scientist/scientist at the FMI 1986-1999
He is or has been also a Member of various international bodies:
● Member of WMO Executive Council 2008-2015
● Chairman of EUMETSAT Council 2010-2014 (European Meteorological Satellite Organization)
● Chairman of EUMETNET Council 2003-2005
● Member of ECMWF Council 2002-2005, 2007-2015
● Principal Delegate of Finland to IPCC 2007-2015 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
● Member of American Meteorological Society 2007-2014
● Honorary Doctor, Teri University, India 2016
● Honorary Member, China Meteorological Association 2015
● Chairman of the Board of University of Eastern Finland 2009-2015
● Member Board of Directors of Fortum Energy Company 2013-2015
Before joining WMO he was the Director-General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) 2002-2005, 2007-2015 (National weather, climate and marine Institute).
He has also held positions in international development and scientific fields:
● Director of Development and Regional Activities Department of WMO 2005-2007
● Research professor on Remote Sensing/FMI 2000-2002
● Senior scientist/scientist at the FMI 1986-1999
He is or has been also a Member of various international bodies:
● Member of WMO Executive Council 2008-2015
● Chairman of EUMETSAT Council 2010-2014 (European Meteorological Satellite Organization)
● Chairman of EUMETNET Council 2003-2005
● Member of ECMWF Council 2002-2005, 2007-2015
● Principal Delegate of Finland to IPCC 2007-2015 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
● Member of American Meteorological Society 2007-2014
● Honorary Doctor, Teri University, India 2016
● Honorary Member, China Meteorological Association 2015
● Chairman of the Board of University of Eastern Finland 2009-2015
● Member Board of Directors of Fortum Energy Company 2013-2015