Dr. Balázs Horváth was the UNDP Resident Representative in Botswana through May 2025. Prior to taking up the post in November 2021, he served as UNDP Chief Economist for Asia-Pacific, as UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Senior Economic and Strategic Advisor on the Belt and Road Initiative, as Director of UNDP’s Seoul Policy Center, as UNDP Country Director in South Sudan, and in various other capacities in UNDP.
This followed 18 years in various positions at the International Monetary Fund. He has dealt with diverse aspects of economic policies and complex development situations, including poverty, inequality, social protection, global climate change, good governance, and the rule of law. Balázs is Hungarian and holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.