Robert C. Orr is Dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland in the United States, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Climate Change.
From 2004 to 2014, he served as Deputy Secretary-General for Strategic Planning in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Orr was the UN Secretary-General's Senior Adviser on Counter-Terrorism, Peacebuilding, Women's and Children's Health, Sustainable Energy, Food and Nutrition, Institutional Innovation, Public-Private Partnerships and Climate Change.
He joined the United Nations at Harvard University, where he served as executive director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School.
He has held senior positions in the United States government, including Deputy United States Ambassador to the United Nations and Director of Global Affairs at the National Security Council, where he was responsible for peacekeeping and humanitarian action.
Professor Orr is fluent in Spanish and Mandarin.