Born in 1962 in Colombia, Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz is since 1996 co-founder and first Executive Director of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD - Geneva). His previous experience include: co-founder and General Director, Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano (FFLA - Quito); Colombian negotiator and delegate for the Uruguay Round, the UNCED process, UNCTAD VIII, Climate Change Convention, IPCC, Montreal Protocol and bilateral trade and investment related negotiation processes. Also, acted as Spokesman for the G-77 in several fora and as Chairperson of the UN Standing Committees on Commodities and on Trade Preferences. He currently serves in several advisory bodies, including as Chair of the Working Group on Environment, Trade and Investment of IUCN's Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy; the UN Secretary General's Millennium Project Task Force on Trade; and the joint World Bank-WWF Trade Liberalization, Rural Poverty and the Environment project.
