Profile

Y.BHG. PROF. TAN SRI ZAKRI ABD HAMID

Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia

 

Y.Bhg. Prof. Tan Sri Zakri assumed the office of Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia on August 16, 2010. He was the founding Director of the Centre for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS@USM) and is holder of the Tuanku Chancellor Chair at Universiti Sains Malaysia. He was a professor at- and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia from 1992 to 2000, and was conferred the title of Emeritus Professor from the same university in 2004.

Dr. Zakri has extensive experience in science governance at the national and international levels.  He was the Founding President of the Genetics Society of Malaysia (1994–2000) and was the Chair of the National Taskforce to formulate the ‘National Policy on Biological Diversity’ launched by the Government in 1998. From 2001 to 2008, he was the Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the United Nations University in Japan. He co-chaired the “Millennium Ecosystem Assessment” (2001–2005), a “mega-science” project undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations and involving 1,360 experts from 95 countries. He was also the Chair of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) for the Convention on Biological Diversity from 1997 to 1999.

Dr. Zakri’s academic interests lie in genetics, biodiversity and bio-diplomacy. He is a recipient of the Langkawi Award (1998), and is a fellow of several learned bodies: the Academy of Sciences Malaysia; the Academy of Sciences of the Developing World; the Islamic World Academy of Sciences; and the World Academy of Art and Science. Dr. Zakri is a former Fulbright Scholar and is presently an Executive Board member of the Paris-based International Council for Science (ICSU) and sits on the Advisory Board of the Arab Fund Fellowship Program.