Reza Ardakanian, PhD
Reza Ardakanian, PhD
download CV فارسی

Reza Ardakanian was born in 1958 in Yazd, Iran. He is a scientist, politician and former Minister of Energy (2017-2021) of Iran who has worked for the UN system in UN-water and United Nations University for a decade (2007-2017).
Currently, he is a faculty member of the Civil Eng. Dept. at Sharif University of Technology, Tehran-Iran. He holds a BSc in civil engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran (1983), a MSc in water resources engineering (1993), and a PhD in water resources management from McMaster University in Canada (1997). He has been a faculty member of Sharif University of Technology in Tehran since 1998 where 15 PhD and MSc students have been graduated under his supervision and he has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University from 1999-2006. He has authored, co-authored, and edited around 95 publications, including books, journal papers, research reports, lecture notes, and articles for the media.

CV
National level :

At the national level, he has served as the Deputy Minister for Urban Development (1987-89) in the Ministry of Interior, Deputy Minister for Planning (1989-91), the Senior Vice Minister (1998-2001), and Deputy Minister for Water Affairs (2001-2005) in the Ministry of Energy of Iran. During the latter period, he also served as the General Manager of the National Water Resources Management Company, in charge of constructing/operating of large dams, irrigation and drainage networks, and hydropower plants. Reza Ardakanian was nominated as the Minister of Energy by the President of I.R. Iran and received 82% vote of confidence from the Parliament, the position he served during November 2017 – August 2021.
International level:

At the international level, he sat on the Bureau of UNESCO-IHP in Paris (2000-02), the Governing Board of UNESCO-IHE in Delft (2003-07), Managing Board of the International Hydropower Association in London (2004-06), and the Advisory Board of UNU-EHS (2003-07). He was Founding Director of RCUWM, a UNESCO regional center on urban water management based in Tehran (2002-07). From 2007 to 2015, he served UN-Water as Founding Director of the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC), hosted by the United Nations University in Bonn, Germany. He has also served UNU as Vice Rector in Europe, ad interim, during August 2009 until November 2010. In 2012, Reza Ardakanian was appointed by the Rector of the United Nations University and the Under-Secretary-General of the UN as the Founding Director of the new UNU Institute for Integrated Management of Environmental Resources (UNU-FLORES) in Dresden, Germany. Since then, he has been leading the academic research and administrative activities of the institute. In 2014, he was appointed by the Rector of the Dresden University of Technology (TUD) as a co-opted Professor at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of the TUD and established the joint PhD program between TUD and UNU on Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources.
News

A Convergence of Minds: Shaping the Energy Landscape at ICERS2024

The 17th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES), 06 - 10 November 2022, Paphos, Cyprus

DWA and UNU-FLORES Sign Cooperation Agreement

425 Participants, 50 Countries – Dresden Nexus Conference 2017 Opens

New Water Decade Proposed at High-Level Summit in Tajikistan

Developing Capacity for the Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture in Tehran

Parliamentarians of Saxony visit UNU-FLORES

From Farmer to Minister: Sustainability Needs an Integrated Holistic Approach

UNU Congratulates Reza Ardakanian on His Appointment as Minister of Energy of Iran

Nexus Approach is Key to Identifying Mechanisms for Achieving the SDGs: DNC2015 Synopsis

UNU-FLORES and IOER sign cooperation agreement

Rector of United Nations University meets Prime Minister of Saxony

UNU-FLORES and SMUL Discuss Cooperation

UNU Promotes Nexus Approach for Achieving SDGs at UNESCO

UNU-FLORES Director Discusses Cooperation with Chinese Academy of Science and Chinese Academy of Forestry

UNU-FLORES and Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development discuss cooperation

UNU-FLORES Director Participates in UNU & DLR Signing Ceremony

UNU-FLORES at the Budapest Water Summit: Promoting the Nexus of Water, Soil and Waste at the High-Level Panel on the “Water-Energy-Food Nexus”

UNU-FLORES Introduces the Nexus Observatory at World Water Week in Stockholm

UNU-FLORES Presents Work to Saxon Politicians and Scientific Community

UN-Water: UNU-FLORES Director to Co-Coordinate Water Decade (2018–2028) Task Force

UNU-FLORES teams up with new Center for Advanced Water Research established by TUD and UFZ

Advancing a Nexus Approach in Sustainable Management of Environmental Resources – Lecture at University of Bonn

Activities
Early career
At the national level, Reza Ardakanian has served as the Deputy Minister for Urban Development (1987–89) in the Ministry of Interior, Deputy Minister for Planning (1989–91), the First Deputy Minister (1998–2001), and Deputy Minister for Water Affairs (2001–2005) in the Ministry of Energy of Iran. During the latter period, he also served as the General Manager of the National Water Resources Management Company, in charge of constructing/operating of large dams, irrigation networks, and hydropower plants.
Academic career
Ardakanian is a water scientist with a PhD in Water Resources Management from McMaster University, Canada. He has published his academic contributions in a number of books, journal articles and working papers. He is co-opted professor at the Technische Universität Dresden and a faculty member of the Sharif University of Technology since 1998 and supervised 15 PhD and MSc students. He served as Director-in-charge of the Iran Water Resources Research Editorial Board, a member of the Board of Trustees of the University from 1999 to 2006. He has authored, co-authored, and edited over 100 publications, including books, journal papers, research reports, lecture notes, and articles for the media.
Political career
Diplomatic career Reza Ardakanian has made remarkable contributions to the United Nations system. As Founding Director (2012 to present) of the United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES), he successfully established the institute with the strategic focus on the Nexus of Water, Soil and Waste in 2012 Dresden, Germany and ensured its funding sustainability. He established a joint PhD programme in Integrated Management of Water, Soil and Waste with the Technische Universität Dresden. He successfully led the organization of the Dresden Nexus Conference (DNC) in 2015 and 2017 linking experts in the area of water, soil and waste from the UN system organizations, international organizations, UN Member States, universities and research institutions as well as individuals to collectively make contributions to the optimization of the innovative usage of the environmental resources. The UNU-FLORES is now a true think tank to the UN Member States who seek innovative solutions towards the integrated management of water, soil and waste. The institute has delivered research projects concerning China, Tanzania during his term. Furthermore, he and his team contribute significantly in the internationalization of scientific activities in Dresden. Ardakanian was appointed as Co-coordinator of the UN-Water Task Force on planning and organization of the new Water Decade (2018–2028) and is the deputy UNU Representative to the UN-Water. Prior to his tenure at UNU-FLORES, Ardakanian led the United Nations University Vice Rectorate in Europe (UNU-ViE) as Vice Rector in Europe a.i. (2009–2011) overseeing the operation of the UNU offices in Bonn, Germany. As Founding Director (2007–2015) of the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC), Reza Ardakanian successfully established the programme and led the team towards achieving notable results and making significant contributions in the realm of capacity development on water topics. During his directorship, the team organized 128 global capacity development workshops and developed capacity for 2334 relevant professionals from 151 countries. He also led the development and launch of the UN-Water Activity Information System (UNW-AIS). In addition to his leadership at various UN offices and programmes, Reza Ardakanian served as board member to a number of UN entities and international institutions including United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) (2003–2007), the bureau of the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (UNESO-IHP) (2000-2002） and the UNESCO Institute for Water Education (UNESCO-IHE) (2003–2007). He also was on the Managing Board of the International Hydropower Association in London (2004–2006)and the Czechglobe Global Change Research Institute (2016–present). He was Founding Director of RCUWM, a UNESCO regional centre on urban water management based in Tehran (2002–2007) and co-founder of the Center for Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures under auspices of UNESCO in Yazd, Iran (2005).
Energy Minister
Ardakanian was nominated as the Energy minister by President Hassan Rouhani on 15 October 2017. He was confirmed by the Parliament on 29 October with 225 yes votes out of 276.He completed his term on 24 august 2021.
Books

Rethinking Infrastructure Design for Multi-Use Water Services (SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science) 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓

SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science (𝟓𝟎 Book Series)

Governing the Nexus: Water, Soil and Waste Resources Considering Global Change 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓

Environmental Resource Management and the Nexus Approach: Managing Water, Soil, and Waste in the Context of Global Change 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations: Questions of Accountability and Autonomy (SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science) 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓

Life-cycle Cost Approach for Management of Environmental Resources: A Primer (SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science) 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓

Managing Water, Soil and Waste Resources to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals: Monitoring and Implementation of Integrated Resources Management (Springerbriefs in Environmental Science) 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖

Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: From Concept to Implementation 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖

Resources, Services and Risks: How Can Data Observatories Bridge The Science-Policy Divide in Environmental Governance? (SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science) 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔