Konrad Pesendorfer, president of the Saudi General Statistical Authority

Konrad Pesendorfer
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Updated 30 March 2020
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Konrad Pesendorfer, president of the Saudi General Statistical Authority

Konrad Pesendorfer is the newly appointed president of the General Statistical Authority (GaSat), the national statistical institute of Saudi Arabia.

Chaired by Mohammed Al-Jadaan, minister of finance and acting minister of economy and planning, GaSat’s board of directors appointed Pesendorfer as president after he served as acting president since last January.

Pesendorfer is one of the world’s prominent experts in managing statistical organizations. He will be working alongside GaSat’s team to improve and oversee statistical work and to achieve GaSat’s transformation goals by turning it into a world-class statistical authority.

Pesendorfer attained his master’s degree in economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business in 1995 and his Ph.D. in economics and business administration from the same university in 2002. 

He worked as director general of Statistics Austria from January 2010 to December 2019 and was responsible for all statistical matters and international affairs.

Pesendorfer represented Austria in the European Statistical System Committee, the top decision-making body of the European statistical system.

He also served as chairman of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Committee on Statistics and Statistical Policy between January 2016 and December 2019.

Together with the chief statistician of India, he was co-chairman of the International Comparison Program governing board of the UN/World Bank from November 2016 to December 2019, set up to calculate worldwide purchasing power parities.

Pesendorfer was also member of the Austrian Fiscal Council between November 2013 and December 2019, assessing and advising the government on fiscal policy issues. Between 2017 and 2019, he served as president of the Austrian Statistical Society.


Saudi Arabia, UAE and allies condemn Gaza ceasefire violations

Updated 34 min 59 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia, UAE and allies condemn Gaza ceasefire violations

  • They joined Qatar, Jordan and Egypt, who on Saturday also condemned ongoing violations

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday led renewed regional condemnation of Israel’s repeated violations of the ceasefire in Gaza, which have resulted in the killing and wounding of more than 1,000 Palestinians.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the Kingdom, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkiye said the breaches represented a dangerous escalation that risked inflaming tensions and undermining efforts to restore calm and stability, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

They joined Qatar, Jordan and Egypt, who on Saturday condemned what they described as ongoing ceasefire violations and warned they threatened de-escalation efforts and regional stability.

The ministers said the latest developments come at a critical moment, as regional and international efforts intensify to advance the second phase of the peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump and implement UN Security Council Resolution 2803, SPA added.

They warned that the repeated violations pose a direct threat to the political process and could derail attempts to create the conditions for a more stable phase in Gaza, both in security and humanitarian terms. They stressed the need for full adherence to the ceasefire to ensure the success of the next phase of the peace plan.

The statement called on all parties to assume their responsibilities during this sensitive period, exercise maximum restraint, sustain the ceasefire, and avoid any actions that could undermine current diplomatic efforts. It also urged steps to facilitate early recovery and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.

Reaffirming their commitment to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, the ministers said this must be based on the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state, in line with international law, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.