Carlos Lopes, a national of Guinea Bissau was appointed as the eighth Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, at the level of UN under Secretary-General, in September 2012. Dr. Lopes left UNECA in 2016 and currently serves as Member of Governing Boards or advisory and editorial committees of about a dozen institutions. Dr. Lopes previously served as Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Geneva and Director of the UN System Staff College in Turin at the level of Assistant Secretary-General from March 2007 to August 2012. Dr. Lopes has actively contributed to research on development issues.