Timothy E. Wirth
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Position: President
Organization: United Nations Foundation
Location: Washington, DC
Timothy E. Wirth is a Panel member.
Timothy E. Wirth is the president of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund, both of which were founded in 1998 to support and strengthen the work of the United Nations. Sen. Wirth began his career in government as a White House Fellow under President Johnson and later became Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education in the Nixon Administration. In 1975, he returned to his home state of Colorado and won the first of six consecutive terms for the U.S. House of Representatives, where he concentrated on communications technology and budget policy. Sen. Wirth was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1987 and shifted his focus to environmental issues, especially climate change and population stabilization. After choosing not to run for re-election, he served as the first Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs, coordinating U.S. foreign policy on refugees, population, environment, science, human rights and narcotics. President of the UN Foundation since its inception, Sen. Wirth has developed its mission and program priorities, which include the environment, women and population, children's health and peace, security and human rights. Sen. Wirth graduated from Harvard College, where he has since served as a member of the Board of Overseers, and holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is married to Wren Wirth, president of the Winslow Foundation; they have two grown children.