Elizeu de Oliveira Chaves Junior serves as Chief of Staff of the United Nations Youth Office in New York. In this senior leadership role, he oversees the substantive and operational work, supervises the sections, leads political outreach and serves as deputy to the Head of the UN Youth Office and UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs.

Throughout his UN career, Elizeu has played leadership across field and headquarters assignments. While based in Brazil, he spearheaded initiatives to advance the population and development agenda, forging partnerships with government, private sector and parliament.

At the global level, he played key roles. Prior to joining the UN Youth Office, he served amongst many roles as Senior Advisor for South-South and Triangular Cooperation and Executive Coordinator of the ICPD30 Secretariat at UNFPA.

His government service included positions at Brazil's Ministries of Social Development and Education, where he was among the architects of the "Bolsa Escola" Programme—a transformative social policy for Brazil's most vulnerable young populations.

Before his UN service, Elizeu was a youth advocate and policy architect. His early international engagement included serving as youth delegate at pivotal global conferences, including the World Conference on Human Rights (1993) and World Food Summit (1995). He provided expert consultation to UN entities and government, while playing a key role in developing social policies for adolescents and youth in Brazil.

Elizeu holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology, a Master's in Social Sciences, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Politics from the University of Brasilia. As a visiting scholar, he undertook post-doctoral studies in international affairs at Columbia University in NY. His academic portfolio includes advanced training and specializations in public leadership and international law.

As a scholar-practitioner, he has taught international affairs and authored studies on youth policies, migration, and poverty reduction.