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Selection Process of Next Director General Commenced
Appointment Expected to Be Made by June 2009
Staff Report
10 October 2008
The IAEA Board of Governors intends to appoint the next Director General by June 2009. (Photo: IAEA/D. Calma)
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The process of appointing the IAEA Director General for four years beginning 1 December 2009 has formally begun. IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei´s term of office expires on 30 November 2009. Dr. ElBaradei has served as Director General since 1997 and has stated that he is not available for a fourth term of office.
At the 6 October IAEA Board meeting, newly-elected Chair Taous Feroukhi informed Governors that the closing date for submitting nominations has been set for 31 December 2008. The final list of candidates is expected to be circulated soon after the closing date.
The Director General must secure two-thirds of the vote of the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors in order to be appointed. If a two-thirds majority is not achieved, the nomination process begins again. A new slate of candidates is then presented to the Board for its consideration, with the Director General appointed only once a two-thirds majority is achieved.
The Board intends to make an appointment by June 2009. The appointment will then be submitted for approval at the IAEA General Conference in September 2009.
Background
Dr. ElBaradei is the IAEA´s fourth Director General since 1957. He was first appointed to the office effective December 1997, and reappointed in 2001 and 2005. He follows Hans Blix, IAEA Director General from 1981 to 1997; Sigvard Eklund, IAEA Director General from 1961 to 1981; and Sterling Cole, IAEA Director General from 1957 to 1961.
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