Omar Salem is of Libyan nationality. He holds a BSc in Hydrology (1976) from the University of Arizona (USA) and an MSc in Hydrogeology (1983) from the University of Birmingham, UK. He worked from 1976 to 1977 as a hydrogeologist on the Gefara Plain Project of the General Water Authority (GWA) of Libya and in 1977 became Director of the Bureau of Groundwater Studies. After study leave in the UK, he became a Senior Hydrogeologist in the Department of Water and Soil and subsequently in 1987 Director General of Water Resources in the Department of Water and Soil. From 1991 to the present he has been Secretary of the General Water Authority (GWA). The GWA is the national body responsible for the study, development and management of water resources. It employs more than 600 employees and five General Directorates: Water Resources, Dams, Irrigation and Drainage, Planning and Finance, in addition to five regional branches. In the same period also served as the National Director of the UNDP Project on "Water Resources Development ". He is Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of the Joint Commission for the Study and Development of the Nubian Sandstone aquifer. This Commission was formed in 1992 between Libya, Egypt and later Sudan. He is a member of many other national and regional technical bodies and professional associations and author of many technical publications on groundwater and water resources.

Vice President: Middle East and North Africa