Thomas Zeltner is born in Bern (Switzerland). He graduated with an MD and a Master's degree in Law from the University of Bern. Since 1992 he has been Professor of Public Health at the University of Bern.
He is President of the UNESCO-Commission of Switzerland and of the Swiss Red Cross.
He is the founder and first chairman of the WHO Foundation. The WHO Foundation is a grantmaking organization with the objective of addressing the most pressing global health challenges of tomorrow by raising significant new funding for WHO from non-traditional sources.
He serves as Deputy Chair of the University Council of the Medical University of Vienna (Austria) and chairs the Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction (Zürich).
As Secretary of State for Health and Director General of Health Thomas Zeltner represented Switzerland at the World Health Organization, WHO (1991-2009). He was member and Vice-President of WHO's Executive Board (1999-2002). More recently he served as Special Envoy for WHO (2012-14).
