Our staff
The CBSS Secretariat is led by the Director General and supported by Senior Advisors and a diverse team, all working collaboratively to advance the priorities of the CBSS in the Baltic Sea Region.
The Secretariat is led by the Director General, who is appointed by consensus among the Council Members. The Director General is tasked with ensuring that the Secretariat operates effectively and in alignment with the CBSS’s strategic priorities. This includes overseeing the work of the Secretariat’s various units, each headed by Senior Advisors responsible for specific areas of focus. Alongside these units, the Secretariat comprises a diverse team of professionals, including project staff, who collectively contribute to advancing the CBSS’s mandate and objectives across the Baltic Sea Region.
Director General
Gustav Lindström
Gustav Lindström is the Director General of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), having previously served as its Deputy Director General. Prior to his tenure at the CBSS, he was the Director of the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) based in Paris. Mr Lindström holds a doctorate in Policy Analysis from the RAND Graduate School and a master’s degree in international policy studies from Stanford University.
Deputy Director General
Vacant
Senior Advisors & Heads of Unit
Olivia Lind Haldorsson – Senior Adviser, Head of the Children at Risk Unit
Olivia Lind Haldorsson is a Senior Adviser and the Head of the CBSS’s Children at Risk Unit.
Edi Mujaj – Senior Adviser, Head of the Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings (TF-THB)
Prior to his tenure at the CBSS as the head of the Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings (TF-THB), Edi Mujaj worked as a Development Manager at the Swedish National Coordination Office against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB). His experience in the field of THB includes coordinating and authoring several government-commissioned reports and guidelines on sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, and national referral mechanisms. He holds a degree in Political Science from Stockholm University.
Kazimierz Musiał – Senior Adviser, Regional Identity
Kazimierz Musiał – Senior Adviser, Regional Identity
Vineta Polatside – Senior Adviser, Safe and Secure
Vineta Polatside – Senior Adviser, Safe and Secure
Uģis Zanders – Adviser, Sustainable & Prosperous Region
Uģis Zanders, the Advisor for the Priority Area Sustainable and Prosperous Region, focuses, at the CBSS, on sustainable maritime economy, climate change adaptation, and the localisation of the UN Agenda 2030 and its SDGs. His previous experience is closely linked to sustainable development policy. At the Latvian Ministry of Environment and Regional Development, he contributed to the UN’s 10-Year Framework of Programmes (10YFP) on Sustainable Consumption and Production and developed the national legal framework for green public procurement.
For a comprehensive list of the CBSS Secretariat staff, see our contact pages.