Biography

Former Ambassador at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Head of the Department for Development Policy, Mr. Torgny Holmgren became SIWI’s Executive Director in 2012.

Torgny has served as an expert or board member on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Water, the World Water Council (Permanent Observer in the Board of Governors), the European Advisory Group of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and with Water Aid (Sweden).

A Swedish national, Torgny has extensive experience working in East Africa, South Asia, Europe and North America. Before joining SIWI, Torgny worked for the World Bank and the Swedish Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance. He has recently served as Sherpa in UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Global Sustainability.

Torgny studied at the Stockholm School of Economics and has over 30 years of experience in economic and development issues. He speaks English and Swedish.