Angela Merkel was born in Hamburg on 17 July 1954, but spent most of her childhood in Templin, in Brandenburg, East Germany. After reading physics at Leipzig University (1973 1978), she conducted research into quantum chemistry at the Central Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin. She obtained her doctorate in 1986 with a thesis on calculating the velocity constants for simple hydrocarbon reactions. In late 1989, Angela Merkel joined "Demokratischer Aufbruch" (Democratic New Beginning). She soon became their Press Spokeswoman and then, following the first free elections to the People's Chamber of the then GDR on 18 March 1990, she was appointed Deputy Government Spokeswoman for Lothar de Maizière's Government. She has been a member of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union of Germany) since August 1990, and a member of the German Bundestag, for the constituency of Stralsund, North Western Pomerania and Rügen, since December 1990. From 1991 to 1994 she served as Federal Minister for Women and Youth, subsequently becoming Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, a position she held until 1998. From December 1991 until her election as General Secretary of the CDU on 7 November 1998, she held the post of Deputy Chairwoman of the CDU in Germany. She was simultaneously Chairwoman of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania CDU from May 1993 to May 2000. She has been Chairwoman of the CDU in Germany from April 2000 to December 2018. She also served as Chairwoman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag from September 2002 until she was first elected as Chancellor in November 2005.

During her presidential tenures, she promoted the rights of all but particularly those of the most vulnerable. Among her many achievements, education and tax reforms, and the creation of the National Institute for Human Rights and the Museum of Memory and Human Rights stand out. So do the establishment of the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality, the adoption of quotas to increase women’s political participation, and the approval of Civil Union Act legislation, granting rights to same sex couples and thus, advancing LGBT rights. Since the early 1990s, Ms. Bachelet has worked closely with many international organizations. In 2010 she chaired the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, a joint International Labor Organization (ILO) and World Health Organization (WHO) initiative, which sought to promote social policies to stimulate economic growth and social cohesion. In 2011, she was named the first Director of UN Women, an organization dedicated to fighting for the rights of women and girls internationally. Economic empowerment and ending violence against women were two of her priorities during her tenure. She has recently pledged to be a Gender Champion, committing to advance gender equality in OHCHR and in international fora.

Ban Ki-moon serves as the chair of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future and" as the Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. He served as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNSG) from January 2007 to December 2016. He led the efforts for the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, and under his leadership, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda were created. Mr. Ban Ki-moon currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens which seeks to empower youth and women to become active global citizens in creating a sustainable future for all. In addition, he currently holds over 20 positions, including the Presidency and the Chairmanship of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), and Chairmanships of the Global Commission on Adaptation, the Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee, and the BOAO Forum in Asia.

Dr Swaminathan was Secretary to the Government of India for Health Research and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research from 2015 to 2017. In that position, she focused on bringing science and evidence into health policy making, building research capacity in Indian medical schools and forging south-south partnerships in health sciences. From 2009 to 2011, she also served as Coordinator of the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases in Geneva. She received her academic training in India, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and has published more than 350 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. She is an elected Foreign Fellow of the US National Academy of Medicine and a Fellow of all three science academies in India. The Science division’s role is to ensure that WHO stays ahead of the curve and leverages advances in science and technology for public health and clinical care, as well as ensuring that the norms, standards and guidelines produced by WHO are scientifically excellent, relevant and timely. Her vision is to ensure that WHO is at the cutting edge of science and is able to translate new knowledge into meaningful impact on population health worldwide.