International Leader for Humanity, Peace and Sustainable Development
Mozambican African | Global Citizen Hindu-Goan heritage | DNA for One Humanity
He is a distinguished global leader with a lifelong commitment to multilateralism, equity, and planetary justice. A Mozambican African with a “DNA for Humanity”, he brings over three decades of international leadership experience as Director at the United Nations, Administrator of the European Union, and Delegate with the African Union and NATO.
Education
University of Oxford - OII (Oxford Internet Institute), United Kingdom
April 2004 - October 2005
Post Doctorate in Internet Studies - Science and Networks
List of Publications, March 2026
Skills
- Leadership, sound planning and organizational capabilities. Global Partnership thinker and builder
- Results-driven, logical and methodical approach to achieving tasks and objectives. Outstanding communicator
- Creative and entrepreneurial networker - effective project coordinator
- Critical thinker - strong analytical skills; accurate and probing
- High integrity and honesty; ethical and socially aware
- Liberty, fraternity and equality are mottos for everyday conduct in life
- Energetic and positive outlook, which often inspires others
- Effective and selective in the use of communications technologies
(MsC) Master of Science – Economics and Management of Science and Technology – Information Systems
Conceptual Model of a Nation Wide Information System for Current Research.
(PhD) Doctor of Philosophy – Science and Technology Policy Studies
The Structure of Scientific Communication. Electronic Networks, Research Collaboration and The Discovery of Digital Knowledge Bases.
Technical University of Lisbon - ISEG (Higher Institute of Economics and Management), Portugal
September 1994 - April 1997
University of Sussex - SPRU (Science Policy Research Unit), United Kingdom
January 2000 - January 2004
Technical University of Lisbon - ISEG (Higher Institute of Economics and Management), Portugal
September 1990 - July 1994
Languages
(Lic) – Economics
1st Degree in Economics
Excellent communication skills (English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese – native)
Professional
info
Work
experience
Alexandre is a former Director D1 at the United Nations Organisation (May 2016- June 2025), as Chief of Country Outreach, Technology and Innovation, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
He was previously International Relations Advisor at the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation, an agency of the Ministry of Education and Science in Lisbon, Portugal (Delegate for Europe-Africa Cooperation in Science and Technology and Delegate for the NATO Peace and Security Programme).
Alexandre was born in Nampula, Mozambique in 1972, and he is the father of two sons, Henrique, born in 2001 and Duarte, born in 2008. Professor Alexandre Caldas has more than 25 years experience in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Digital Transformation and Strategic Foresight. He was Director of Human Resources Training for Science and Technology at the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation. Previously, he was Head of Partnerships Management Unit at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), an agency of the European Union in Budapest, Hungary. He was also Director of Innovation and New Technology at the Portuguese Industrial Association (AIP) – Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Portugal.
Alexandre was appointed by the Portuguese Prime-minister as Director-General of Ceger (the Management Centre for the Electronic Government Network) in the Ministry of the Presidency in Portugal (2005 - 2011). Previously he was Executive Director of the Science and Technology Park in Abrantes (2002 - 2004) and ICT coordinator for the Ministry of Science and Technology (1994 - 2000).
Alexandre is an economist, has a PhD in Science and Technology Policy, is Associate Professor of information science and technology policy at University Lusophone of Humanities and Technology and was elected in 2009 - 2013 as President of the Governing Board of the Polytechnic Institute in Santarem. Since 2011, he is a member of the Scientific Council and Fellow at the Research Centre for History and Science, Prof. Joaquim Veríssimo Serrao, Portugal.
He has had international academic appointments at top world universities, as the University of Oxford, the Oxford Internet Institute (currently a research associate since 2006 and post-doctoral research fellow 2004 - 2005), the London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE, Media and Communications department (visiting assistant professor in the MsC Global Media and Communications, 2005 - 2006), the Science and Technology Policy Research centre at the University of Sussex (doctoral researcher, 2000 - 2004) and the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands (Erasmus European fellowship, 1994).
2010 - present
2010 - present
2016-2025: Director of the United Nations Organization, D1, UNEP, Kenya [INTERNATIONAL]
2019-2025: Chair of the United Nations Geospatial Network, UN-GGIM, New York [INTERNATIONAL]
2014-2016: International Relations Advisor, Foundation for Science & Technology, Portugal [INTERNATIONAL]
2012-2015: International consultancy in Science and Technology Policy, Ministry of Science, Angola [INTERNATIONAL]
2010-2016: Associate Professor Information Science and Technology Policy, ULHT, Portugal [UNIVERSITY]
2006-2019:Faculty Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom [UNIVERSITY]
2013-2014: Director of Human Resources Training in S&T, Foundation for Science & Technology, Portugal [GOVERNMENT]
2012-2013: Head of Unit Knowledge and Innovation Communities Operations, EIT, Hungary [INTERNATIONAL]
2009-2013: President of Governing Board of Polytechnic Institute of Santarem, Portugal [UNIVERSITY]
2011-2012: Director of Innovation and New Technology, AIP – Portuguese Industrial Association, PT [BUSINESS]
2006-2011: Director General, Management Centre for Electronic Government Network, Portugal [GOVERNMENT]
2008-2011: Director, Supervisory Board for e-Procurement Electronic Platforms (ESPE), Portugal [GOVERNMENT]
2006-2011: Director, Portuguese Electronic Certification Entity (ECEE-PKI), Portugal [GOVERNMENT]
2006-2010: Chair of Information Systems department at University Atlântica, Portugal [UNIVERSITY]
2005-2006: Deputy Director General, Management Centre for Electronic Government Network, PT [GOVERNMENT]
2005-2006: Visiting Assistant Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK [UNIVERSITY]
2004-2005: Post doctoral Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, U. Kingdom [UNIVERSITY]
2002-2004: Executive Director of Tagus Valley – Science and Technology Park, Abrantes, Portugal [BUSINESS]
2002-2004: Director of Ribatejo Digital, Digital Cities Project, NERSANT Business Association, PT [BUSINESS]
2001-2002: Consultant to R&D Foresight Project, DTI / Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom [GOVERNMENT]
2000-2004: PhD Doctoral Researcher at Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU), UK [UNIVERSITY]
1994-2000: ICT Coordinator, Foundation for Science and Technology, Ministry of Science, Portugal [GOVERNMENT]
1998-2005: CEO of IT start-up companies – T Media, Lda. and Cienciametrics, Lda. Portugal [BUSINESS]
1992-1994: IT Consultant to NERSANT Business Association in Santarem District, Portugal [BUSINESS]
Achievements
1992 - present
-
Director of the United Nations, by the age of 43
-
Most senior non-political public official post (Director-General), nominated by Prime-minister, by the age of 33
-
Post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Oxford (OII), Science and Internet, by the age of 31
-
Young entrepreneur prize by the age of 29 and research career prize by the age of 31
-
Responsibility for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy within technology cooperation agreements, Portuguese Government protocols and Business contracts with Portuguese Speaking countries in Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola and East-Timor
-
Implementation of intelligence decision support system for Portuguese government in the Cabinet Office
-
Technology support and responsibility for managing the Portal for the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union in 2007
-
Coordination of Government international project - Disaster-Recovery (Gibraltar, Palma Mallorca, Portugal)
-
Coordination of international project K Networks – Knowledge networks in Atlantic area (United Kingdom, France, Spain and Portugal)
-
International certification of Portuguese Government Network in the ISO 20.000 standard of Quality on IT (first public institution in Portugal and the 1st e-government institution worldwide)
-
Installation of Portuguese Public Key Infrastructure for e-Citizen Card, e-Passport, e-Official Journal (subsequently director of this entity)
-
Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Portuguese Government (1.350 users, Cabinet Office, 14 Ministries and 69 Cabinets)
-
Teaching the MsC course in New Media, Information and knowledge Systems at LSE, United Kingdom
-
ESRC funding for Oxford research project on World Wide Web of Science, United Kingdo
-
CISCO international project on ICTs and Productivity in 8 European countries, Oxford, United Kingdom
-
Consultancy for European Metropolis Innovation Network (15 European countries), Portugal
-
Successful launch of regional innovation network (involving 40 public, private and academic institutions)
-
Successful launch of regional science and technology park in Abrantes, Portugal
-
Competitive Trajectories of Portuguese Industry Study, including Study of Innovation in the Shoe-Making Industry, Dinamia, Portugal
-
The reference portals for science communication in Portugal, cienciapt.net, in Angola, ciencia.ao and across Europe, scienceineurope.net
-
10 Year’s Foresight project for Department of Trade and Industry / Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom
-
Implementation of decision support system for the Foundation for Science and Technology in Portugal (monitoring the PRAXIS Programme for Science funding – 350 million euro’s – 6 years)
-
Managing an annual funding budget of 120 million euros for Knowledge and Innovation Communities across 28 countries in Europe, involving 300 partners in Information and Communication Technologies, Sustainable Energy and Climate Change, EIT, Hungary
-
Managing an annual funding budget of 236 million euros for more than 9.500 Scholarships and Scientific Employment, FCT, Portugal
- Caldas, Alexandre (2015). Science and Time. Policy and Strategy for International Partnerships, Scholar´s Press, 28 May 2015
- Freire, V. and A. Caldas (2013) o Ciberespaço: Desafios à Segurança e à Estratégia, Segurança Internacional – Perspectivas Analíticas, ATENA n. º 30, pp. 81 - 150, National Defence Institute (IDN), Portugal, 2013. [CHAPTER IN BOOK]
- Caldas, A. (2012) Connecting Civilisations. On the History of Technology and Revolutions in Science and Innovation, Special Edition, MATRIA XXI Journal, CIJVS. Portugal, pp. 185, May 2012. [ARTICLE]
- Caldas, A. (2011) Portuguese eGovernment Strategy (2005 – 2014), Ceger, Portugal, 2011 [BOOK]
- Caldas, A. (2011) Uma Estratégia Nacional de Cibersegurança. Revista Segurança e Defesa n. º 16, Janeiro – Março 2011, pp. 94-98, Lisboa, 2011. [ARTICLE]
- Caldas, A. (2010) Science Networks on the Internet. Information Technology, Research Collaboration and Digital Knowledge Bases. LAP - Lambert Academic Publishing, NL, 2010. [BOOK]
- Caldas, A., Schroeder, R., Mesch, G. and Dutton, W. (2008) Patterns of Information Search and Access on the World Wide Web: Democratizing Expertise or Creating New Hierarchies? Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Volume 13 Issue 4 (July 2008), p 769-793 [ARTICLE]
- Caldas, A. (2006) On the Web Structure and Digital Knowledge Bases. On-line and Off-line Connections in Science. In C. Hine (ed.) New Infrastructures for Knowledge Production: Understanding e-Science (Information Science Publishing: Hershey, PA). [CHAPTER BOOK]
- Caldas, A., David, P.A. and Ormanidhi, O. (2005) Digital information network technologies, organizational performance and productivity. Report for Cisco-funded project: 'Internet and productivity in public services: innovative pathways for e-government' (Oxford Internet Institute and Discussion Paper for Stanford Publication Series, 2005. [ARTICLE]
- Caldas, A. (2005) Ciência Outlook 2004. Rumo à Sociedade do Conhecimento. In A. Caldas (ed.) Cienciametrics: Lisbon, Portugal, 2005. [BOOK]
- Caldas, Alexandre (2003). “Are Newsgroups extending Invisible Colleges into the Digital Infrastructure of Science?”, Economics of Innovation and New Technology -Special Issue on Collaborative Technologies and the Economics of Collaborative Research, Volume 12, n.º 1 (February 2003) [ARTICLE]
Selected Publications