Christian Friis Bach (born 29 April 1966) is a Danish author, lecturer and part-time farmer.

Early life and education

Friis Bach was born in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

in Denmark. He holds a PhD in international economics (1996) and an MSc in

agronomics Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...

(1992) from the

Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (, abbr. KVL, , abbr. RVA) was a veterinary and agricultural science university in Denmark. It was founded in 1856 and operated until 2007, when it became a part of the University of Copenhagen. It ...

in Copenhagen. In 1991, he took a Supplementary degree in journalism at the Danish School of Media and Journalism.

Career

Bach was Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is an intergovernmental organization or a specialized body of the United Nations. The UNECE is one of five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Econom ...

(

UNECE The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is an intergovernmental organization or a specialized body of the United Nations. The UNECE is one of five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Econ ...

) from 9 July 2014 until May 2017. He was previously a Member of the

Parliament of Denmark The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...

and head of the Parliamentarian Group of the Social Liberal Party. He was Minister for Development Cooperation of Denmark (2011–2013) in the Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt. He has been Honorary Professor of International Economics and Development at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

(2009–2014), Assistant Professor in Development Economics at the University of Copenhagen's Institute of Economics (1996–1999) followed by six years as associate professor in International and Development Economics at the Royal Danish Agricultural University (1999–2005) (currently

). He was a special advisor to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

Connie Hedegaard Connie Hedegaard Koksbang (born 15 September 1960) is a Danish politician and public intellectual. She was European Commissioner for Climate Action in the ( second Barroso) European Commission from 10 February 2010 through 31 October 2014. On ...

, in relation to the United Nations Global Sustainability Panel (2010–2011) and was a member of then prime minister

Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the prime minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became ...

's Commission on Effective Development Cooperation with Africa, which held meetings between April and October 2008. Bach has a long history with civil society, notably as the international director of

DanChurchAid DanChurchAid () is a Danish humanitarian non governmental organisation aimed at supporting the world's poorest. It was founded in 1922, and is rooted in the Danish National Evangelical Lutheran Church. It is a member of ACT Development, a global ...

(2005–2010), as chairman of the Danish Association for International Co-operation (

Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke (ActionAid Denmark) is a Danish, politically independent humanitarian non-governmental organisation that fights for a more just and sustainable world. The organisation is the Danish member of the global federation ActionA ...

) from 1997 to 2001 and secretary-general of the

Danish Refugee Council Danish Refugee Council (DRC) () is a private Danish humanitarian nonprofit organization, founded in 1956. It serves as an umbrella organization for 33 member organizations. Formed after the Second World War in response to the European refugee c ...

from 2017 to 2019."Christian Friis Bach has stepped down from his role as Secretary General in the Danish Refugee Council"
Danish Refugee Council, press release, 24 April 2019. He was one of the key drivers behind the Danish Fair Trade movement (Max Havelaar Fonden later converted to Fair Trade Denmark) in the early 1990s and helped to establish the Danish Ethical Trading Initiative and DanWatch. He also has private sector experience from running two start-up companies, Viewworld and Worldbarrow, and has worked as a journalist at the

Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...

. He has published a number of books and articles, both scientific and popular. Bach has been married to Karin Friis Bach since 1991. They have three grown-up children (born 1991, 1993 and 1999). In their spare time, they run a part-time farm with cows and horses from Copenhagen.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Christian Friis 1966 births Danish Social Liberal Party politicians Government ministers of Denmark Living people Members of the Folketing 2011–2015 Members of the Folketing 2022–2026 People from Frederiksberg 21st-century Danish farmers Danish lecturers