Dr. Michal Mlynár (Slovakia) is a seasoned diplomat and educator with more than 30 years of experience, including in senior global assignments. He was appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and assumed his post in Nairobi on 10 April 2023. From 20 January 2024 until 7 August 2024, he was designated by the Secretary-General to temporarily lead UN-Habitat as Acting Executive Director. Until April 2023, he was Slovakia's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. During his term, he co-chaired the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform during the 77th session of the General Assembly, served as Vice President of the UNICEF Executive Board, Vice Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, and Chair of the Sixth Committee. Prior to that, Mr. Mlynár served as Director General for International Organizations, Development Cooperation, and Humanitarian Aid at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. He was also Slovakia’s Ambassador in Nairobi and served as the Chair of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to UN-Habitat and the President of its Governing Council. He holds PhD and MA degrees from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and also studied in the UK and the USA.