José Viegas has been Secretary-General of the International Transport Forum at the OECD since August 2012. A Portuguese national, Mr. Viegas has had a distinguished career in academia and in the private sector before joining the ITF. A full Professor of Transport at the Technical University of Lisbon, he served as Director of MIT-Portugal’s Transport Systems focus area. As chairman of TIS.pt consultants, he advised governments and international institutions on key transport projects and policies.At the helm of the ITF, Mr. Viegas has implemented new initiatives to increase value for member countries. He has created a work stream for rapid-delivery policy analysis for countries, strengthened ITF’s links with the private sector through the ITF Corporate Partnership Board and advanced the harmonisation of pan-European road freight transport by helping to secure approval for the Quality Charter developed by ITF’s European Road Transport Group. Mr. Viegas has also guided ITF through the implementation of its Revised Mandate and new General Rules; as well as taking a leading role in reforming ITF’s funding structure.

Mr. Viegas holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the Technical University in Lisbon and undertook postgraduate studies in regional Studies at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. He speaks fluent Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian.

In September 2015, Mr. Viegas was appointed as a member of the UN Secretary- General’s High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport.