Nicholas van Praag managed the communications and advocacy program for the World Development Report 2011. He began his career with the European Commission, where he worked on the EU's development program, before joining UN High Commission for Refugees in 1981 where he served at the Office's headquarters in Geneva, in Sudan, and in Washington, D.C. He left the UN in 1986 for the Aga Khan Development Network and moved to the World Bank in 1990 where he held a number of positions including Head of External Affairs in the World Bank's European Office and Manager of External Affairs for Europe and Central Asia. Before joining the WDR core team, van Praag was Director of External Relations at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (2006-09); a position he held on external service from the Bank.