Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina today received the majority required in an IAEA Board of Governors ballot to be appointed new Director General.
In a closed session, Mr Grossi received the support of 24 Members of the 35-nation Board of Governors, ahead of Romania’s Cornel Feruta with 10 votes. A further Board meeting open to all IAEA Member States will be held on Wednesday to appoint Mr Grossi.
The Board of Governors decision will be submitted for approval to the IAEA General Conference, which consists of representatives of all 171 Member States.
The new Director General – appointed for a term of four years – will be the IAEA’s sixth head since it was founded in 1957. The Board envisages that he will assume office no later than 1 January 2020.
Yukiya Amano of Japan was the IAEA’s fifth Director General. He was first appointed to the office effective December 2009 and reappointed in 2013 and 2017. He passed away on 18 July 2019. He followed Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA Director General from 1997 to 2009; 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.
