A GWP Patron is expected to represent and promote GWP globally and regionally, to leaders, policy makers, media, and the general public. They may also be requested to advise GWP on its work or represent GWP leadership at a high level event.
HRH The Prince of Orange Willem-Alexander
Kingdom of Netherlands
(to April 30, 2013, upon inauguration as King)
Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand, Prince of the Netherlands, became a Patron of the Global Water Partnership in 1998. Since 1997, the Prince has been closely involved in the field of water management, in both the Netherlands and elsewhere. He has been Chair of the Water Advisory Committee in the Netherlands since 2004. As Chair of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation since 2006, he makes a personal contribution to solving water-related problems all over the world.
Margaret Catley-Carlson
GWP former Chair (2000-2008)
Margaret Catley-Carlson was Chair and is now a Patron of the Global Water Partnership. She is on the board of several organizations focussed on improving water resources management and agricultural productivity including the Foresight Advisory Committee for Group Suez Environment, the Crop Diversity Trust, the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water (UNSGAB), the Canadian Water Network, and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), among others. She is on the juries of the Stockholm Water Prize, the Tyler Environment Prize and the Perinbam Award, and on the Council of Advisors of the World Food Prize and the Library of Alexandria.
Catley-Carlson is formerly: President of the Canadian International Development Agency; Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF; President of the Population Council; and Deputy Minister of the Department of Health and Welfare of Canada. She has ten honorary degrees and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Ismail Serageldin
GWP former Chair (1996-2000)
Dr Ismail Serageldin was the first Chair of GWP (1996 to 2000) , former Vice-President of the World Bank, and currently Librarian and Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. He is also former Chairman, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR, 1994-2000). He has published over 60 books and monographs and over 200 papers on a variety of topics including biotechnology, rural development, sustainability, and the value of science to society.
Kader Asmal (d. 2011)
Former Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa
Kader Asmal was elected to the National Assembly, and joined the cabinet as Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry in May 1994. During his tenure he supported the Global Water Partnership. In 1996, the World Wide Fund for Nature-South Africa awarded Asmal their Gold Medal for his conservation work. While serving as Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, he also served as the chairman of the World Commission on Dams (1997–2001). He was Minister of Education from 1999 to 2004.