Gerd Müller has served as Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) since December 2021 and was unanimously reappointed for a second term in 2025. Throughout his career, he has held leadership roles in development cooperation, sustainability and multilateral partnerships, supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on climate change, and global commitments on biodiversity and gender equality. Guided by the motto “Progress by Innovation,” he has advanced reforms at UNIDO to strengthen impact, expand private-sector partnerships and mobilize new funding for sustainable industrial development. From 2013 to 2021, he served as Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. He was previously Deputy Minister at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and a Member of the German Parliament from 1994 to 2021, after serving in the European Parliament from 1989 to 1994.