Maurice Strong

"Maurice Strong, a senior advisor to the Secretary- General of the United Nations [ Kofi Annan] and former senior advisor to the President of the World Bank, is one of the world's most influential political and environmental activists. He is a Distinguished Fellow at IISD.

"Strong served on the board of directors for the United Nations Foundation, a UN affiliated organization established by Ted Turner's historic $1 billion donation. He is also a director of the World Economic Forum Foundation, Chairman of the Earth Council, former Chairman of the Stockholm Environment Institute, and former Chairman of the World Resources Institute.

"In his native Canada, Strong's career has spanned over five decades at some of Canada's most prestigious companies. He has run several companies in the energy and resources sector, including the Power Corporation of Canada, Ontario Hydro, and Petro-Canada (the national oil company). He is currently the chairman of Technology Development, Inc., which funds research in the groundbreaking field of applying nanotechnology towards creating energy sources that are both affordable and ecofriendly. "

Maurice F. Strong, PC, CC, OM, FRSC (born April 29, 1929) is a Canadian businessman. He is an entrepreneur, environmentalist, and one of the world’s leading proponents of the United Nations's involvement in world affairs.


Born in Oak Lake, Manitoba, Strong had his start as a petroleum entrepreneur and became president of Power Corporation until 1966. In the early 1970s he was Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and then became the first Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. He returned to Canada to become Chief Executive Officer of Petro-Canada from 1976 to 1978. He headed Ontario Hydro, one of North Americas largest power utilities, was national President and Chairman of the Extension Committee of the World Alliance of YMCAs, and headed American Water Development Incorporated.

Today Strong spends most of his time in the People's Republic of China, and is President of the Council of the United Nations's University for Peace. UPEACE is the only university in the UN system able to grant degrees at the masters and doctoral level. He is an active honorary professor at Peking University and Honorary Chairman of its Environmental Foundation. He is Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Institute for Research on Security and Sustainability for Northeast Asia.