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Jean-Paul Adam is the Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. In this role, he supports member states to develop a sustainable recovery strategy focusing on their respective capacities and seeking to maximize job creation and value addition. He also advocates for the needs of members states for financial resources to address the response to COVID19 coupled with the climate emergency.
Prior to taking on this role, he served in the Government of the Republic of Seychelles in several Cabinet positions. He was Minister of Health from 2016 to 2019, where he led the modernization of the national health system through focus on prevention and increased investment in healthcare quality. In addition, he advocated for the WHO to adopt a specific strategy on health and climate change in small island developing states.
He served as Minister of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy from 2015 to 2016 where he worked to mainstream the principles of sustainable development into the country’s economic strategies, while leading economic reform programmes in partnership with the IMF and World Bank. Mr. Adam also negotiated a debt for climate change adaptation swap and launched the process for Seychelles to become the first issuer of a Blue Bond.
Between 2010 and 2014, he was Seychelles’ Minister of Foreign Affairs, where he advocated for countries to embrace the concept of the Blue Economy, to improve sustainability for island and coastal countries. Before entering the Cabinet, between 2005 and 2009, he occupied several senior roles in the Office of the President of the Republic of Seychelles including Director General for presidential affairs, Principal Secretary for the Office of the President and Secretary of state in the presidency. He started his career as a career diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 2001 and 2004.
He is a holder of a Masters in International Political Economy form the University of Manchester (UK) and a BA in English Literature and French from the University of Sheffield (UK).