Professor Taalas was elected in May 2015 as the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)for a mandate running from 2016 to 2019 and re-elected for a second term in June 2019. He was born in 1961 in Helsinki, Finland. He holds a PhD in Meteorology (Helsinki University, Physics department 1993, Univ. of Eastern Finland: meteorology, physics, physical chemistry and international development). Before joining WMO he was the Director-General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute 2002-2005, 2007-2015 (National weather, climate and marine Institute).
He has also held positions in International development and scientific fields:
Director of Development and Regional Activities Department of WMO, Geneva 2005-2007
Research professor on Remote Sensing/FMI 2000-2002
Senior scientist/scientist at the FMI 1986-1999
He is also a Member of various international activities:
 Member of WMO Executive Council 2008-2015
 Chairman of EUMETSAT Council 2010-2014
European Meteorological Satellite Organization
 Chairman of EUMETNET Council 2003-2005
(EUMETNET is a network of 31 European National Meteorological Services based in Brussels
 Member of ECMWF Council 2002-5, 2007-2015,
(The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by most of the nations of Europe and is based at Shenfield Park, Reading, UK)
 Principal Delegate of Finland to IPCC 2007-15 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
 Member of American Meteorological Society 2007-2014
 Honorary Doctor, Teri University, India (2016)
 Honorary Member 2015, China Meteorological Association
 Chairman of the Board of University of Eastern Finland (2009-2015)
 Member Board of Directors of Fortum Energy Company (2013-2015)
 Global Commission on Adaptation, Commissioner 2019. Co-led by Emeritus UN
Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon and World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva
 Ex-patriot of the Year 2019/Finland. Elected by the Parliament of expats of Finland
 High-level Climate Action Summit for the heads of state by UN Secretary General,
Steering group
member and Chair of the Science Advisory Group, 2019
 Nominated as the European of the Year by Reader`s Digest Magazine, 2021