Timo Tapani Mäkelä

European Commission, Director of GD Environment Directorate: Sustainable Development & Integration

Date of birth

2 December 1950

Marital status

Married since 1983, 2 children

Education

Master of Technological Sciences (civil/water, sanitation and land use), Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland, 1975

Post-graduate Diploma in Sanitary Engineering (with distinction), IHE, Delft, the Netherlands, 1983

Employment Record

10/03-
European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
Director, Directorate General for Environment

• sustainable development and integration
• Industry policy, sustainable production and consumption, waste, research and innovations

5/00 - 9/03
European Commission, Helsinki, Finland
Head of European Commission Representation in Finland

• policy dialogue and reporting, media relations and reporting and EU information dissemination in all EU policy areas

5/96 - 4/00
European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
Head of Unit, Directorate General for Environment

• EU enlargement
  
• co-operation with Central and Eastern European, former Soviet Union and Mediterranean countries
• regional programmes such as UN/ECE, regional waters, Northern Dimension, Balkan and Environment for Europe
• management of LIFE/Third Countries Programme

2/93 - 4/96
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, UK
Director of Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure Team and
Senior Banker in Energy, Transport and Environmental Infrastructure Department

• policy dialogue and project finance in infrastructure sectors across the countries in transition (eastern Europe)
• initiation, appraisal, negotiations and implementation of project finance and other banking operations

1/90 - 1/93
Ministry of Environment of Finland, Helsinki, Finland
Head of Eastern Europe Programme Division

• policy dialogue, programming and co-ordination of Finnish assistance and financial support to countries in transition in environment, land use planning and housing fields, particularly in Baltic and Visegrad countries and Russia
• finance and implementation of assistance programmes and projects
• liaison and co-financing with other donor countries and international financing institutions (WB, EBRD, NIB etc.)

1/88 - 12/89
Ministry of Mineral Resources and Water Affairs, Gaborone, Botswana
Deputy Director of Operation and Maintenance Division of Water Affairs and Head of Water Quality and Pollution Control

• operation and maintenance of district water supply systems
• overall development and implementation of policies and programmes of water quality management and pollution control in Botswana

1/86 - 12/87
Ministry of Environment of Finland, Helsinki, Finland
Senior Officer

• national policies and programmes on municipal water supply and ground water matters
• international relations in water management and pollution control

1/74 - 12/85
Regional and National Water and Environmental Protection Agencies , Finland

• different tasks as a research officer, senior engineer and senior administrator related to water management, environmental regulations, permits and licenses and inspectorate activities
• special assignments and training programmes in the area of water, environment and development in India, Egypt and eastern Africa