Mostafa Tolba led Egypt's delegation to the UN Conference on the Human Environment in 1972, which launched a lifetime of commitment to environmental issues. After the conference, he was nominated as Deputy Executive Director of the newly established UNEP. Within two years, he became its second Executive Director – a post he held for 17 years until his retirement at the end of 1992.

Under his leadership, UNEP became the core organization within the UN family to catalyze environmental action. His knowledge as a scientist and negotiation skills enabled him to bring people together to achieve what was thought to be unachievable. The most notable example is the widely acclaimed Montreal Protocol, the historic 1987 agreement to protect the ozone layer, which set a precedent for international preventive rather than environmental action.

Mr. Tolba had previously served as Egypt’s Under-Secretary of State for Higher Education and Minister of Youth, following a career as a university professor. He graduated from Cairo University and obtained his PhD from the Imperial College London.