Arthur Erken is IOM's Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia. He assumed this position in October 2024. In this capacity, he is responsible for providing overall strategic leadership and policy direction, ensuring effective programme implementation, and supporting regional and international processes and dialogues on migration. 

Prior to joining IOM, Mr. Erken served as the Director of the Policy and Strategy Division at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in New York. There, he oversaw the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of UNFPA's Strategic Plan, the most progressive to date, and guided the organization's inter-agency and intergovernmental engagements. 

Before this role, Mr. Erken led UNFPA's Division of Communications and Strategic Partnerships, responsible for corporate resource mobilization, corporate communications and facilitating strategic partnerships. His experience also includes senior leadership positions with UNFPA in Asia, where he served as the Acting Regional Director for the Asia and Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok, and as UNFPA Representative in Vietnam and Bangladesh, and before as Deputy Representative in Tanzania. 

Arthur holds Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Anthropology from Radboud University in the Netherlands.