Director General

The World Conservation Union (IUCN)

Ms. Julia Marton-Lefevre was born in Hungary and moved to the United States with her parents who were political refugees after the Hungarian Revolution. She spent most of her adult life in France, where she continued her education, and raised two sons, both of whom are now working in the public sector.

Ms. Julia Marton-Lefevre has taken many important positions in her career experience, including Director General of IUCN, Rector of the University for Peace; Executive Director of Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) International, Executive Director of the International Council for Science (ICSU). Her earlier positions have included Programme Specialist in Environmental Education under a joint UNESCO-UNEP Programme; university teacher in Thailand as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and a staff member of the Fund for Education and Peace in New York.

Julia is a member of a number of boards and commissions, and has co-authored numerous books and papers. In 1999 she received the AAAS Award for International Cooperation in Science. She is a dual national of the US and of France and studied history, ecology and environmental planning in those countries. Julia feels most comfortable as a global citizen, in the international arena, and speaks a number of languages in addition to her Hungarian mother tongue.