Gino Van Begin has been Secretary General of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability since 2013. Gino joined ICLEI in 2000, became the regional director for Europe in 2002 and Deputy Secretary-General in 2007. Over his 23 years at ICLEI, he has consistently worked towards ensuring ICLEI’s quality as a not-for-profit, responsible, and forward-looking local government organization, empowering its members around the world to implement sustainable solutions to the increasing challenges they face. 

He was a member of the steering committee of the European Sustainable Cities and Towns from 2000 to 2012 and served as a member of the jury of the EU Green Capital Award between 2006 and 2011. He was a member of the board of the Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) from 2012 to 2021. He has served as a board member of SLOCAT since 2018 and is the co-chair of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 Initiative of UNDRR since 2023.

Gino Van Begin was born in Belgium in 1964 and graduated from the University of Brussels as a lawyer. Before joining ICLEI, he worked in the Russian Federation for seven years as an advisor and team Leader of the EU-funded Environmental Centre for Administration and Technology in Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. Prior to that, he worked in Brussels for five years at the European Commission.