Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel serves as Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), of which he has been a member since 2009. A distinguished Pakistani diplomat, he has held senior positions within the United Nations, including Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations.

In May 1995, he was elected President of the Governing Council of UNEP. He also served as Chief Negotiator for the Group of 77 (G-77) countries during the preparatory meetings of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II). At the summit, held in Istanbul in June 1996, he was elected Chair of the Main Negotiations Committee.

Born and raised in Peshawar, Ambassador Kakakhel joined Pakistan’s Foreign Service in 1969. During his diplomatic career, he served as Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi and High Commissioner in Nairobi. He also represented Pakistan as Permanent Representative to UNEP and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UN-Habitat).

His professional experience encompasses international diplomacy, environmental governance, multilateral negotiations and sustainable development. He studied at Edwardes College, Islamia College and the University of Peshawar, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Political Science.