The UN’s Chief Executives Board

The UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) brings together the Executive Heads of the United Nations, its 12 Funds and Programmes, the 15 Specialized Agencies, and 3 Related Organizations.

12 of its 31 members sit on the SMG:

• UN Secretary-General
• UNCTAD Secretary-General
• UNDP Administrator
• UNEP Executive Director
• UNHCR High Commissioner
• UNICEF Executive Director
• UNFPA Executive Director
• WFP Executive Director
• UNODC Executive Director
• UN Habitat Executive Director
• UN Women Executive Director
• UN OPS (Acting) Executive Director

Additionally, the Executive Heads of some other UN entities are invited by the Chair of the Board to the CEB meetings. These include the Regional Economic Commissions, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNFCCC, UNU. Of these, the only two who are not on the SMG are the UNAIDS Executive Director and the Rector of UNU.

Generally speaking the members of the CEB who are not represented on the SMG have their own governance processes that are separate to the UN and in many cases are answerable to their own international organisation of state parties separate from the UN General Assembly (the exception is UNRWA). Most of these entities have opted in to the UN’s Common System, and thus fall under the oversight of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC): an independent expert body established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1974. However, while this oversight covers human resource issues, it only does so with respect to some very limited matter;, in other respects these are independent entities and decisions of UN bodies like the General Assembly or guidance issued by the UN Secretariat are not binding upon them. The UN does however have oversight responsibilities for almost all of them: with the exception of the WTO all of these entities report to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) or in rare cases the General Assembly and Security Council.

Nevertheless, we believe that while these entities may be independent in their governance they are still important parts of the UN system, and that all parts of the UN System should follow the best practice established by the UN, or go further, when it comes to transparency for senior appointments. This duty is particularly incumbent upon specialised agencies that have opted in to the UN’s Common System. Below we therefore outline, in similar manner to the above, the mandate, governance process and term lengths of members of the CMB covered by the Common System and not represented on the SMG.

In addition to those listed above our process therefore excludes those Chief Executives who have opted out of the Common System: the President of the World Bank Group, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation. It does include the Director General of the IOM, as they follow the UN Common System, even though they have not formally signed up to it.

EDITORIAL NOTE: The information on this page includes inferences and at times draws on unverifiable intel. The compilation is a result of a rigorous process but the accuracy of information on this website cannot be guaranteed (indeed, the only way this information could be guaranteed is if the UN officially published it, in which case this website would no longer be required!). Please get in touch with us on hello@bluesmoke.blog if you spot any inaccuracies or have information that could be used to improve the content.

Appointed by the Secretary-General

Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS – attends CEB meetings but is not a member

The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) was established by ECOSOC under decision E/1994/84 as a joint initiative between six (now 11) different elements of the UN system – roughly evenly split between various Specialized Agencies and programmes and funds of the UN itself (and the World Bank, which is neither). The WHO administers the program but the UN Secretary-General appoints the Executive Director after consulting with the 11 cosponsoring organisations (as they are known). This is an Under-Secretary General level role with no term length set. and with only three Executive Directors having previously served it is difficult to determine a pattern in past practice. However it appears that practice is to appoint Executive Directors for the usual five-year renewable terms, and not to issue a press release when their term is renewed, but to do so if they are given third terms.

On that basis Winnie Byanyima’s appointment was announced on 14 August 2019.  It is possible that as has happened previously she will be reappointed in August 2024 without any announcement and so we may not hear if the role is to be recruited until August 2029.

Commissioner-General of the UN Refugee Works Agency

The UN Refugee Works Agency (UNRWA) is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly established by General Assembly Resolution 302 in 1949. Its Commissioners-General are appointed by the Secretary-General on the advice of an Advisory Committee established by that resolution and expanded subsequently to currently contain 29 members. The term is undefined but most Commissioners-General have served five-year terms in accordance with USG-level posts.

On that basis Philippe Lazzarini was announced as the next Commissioner-General on 18 March 2020. While his contract might be expected to require renewal on 18 March 2025, there may be a complication in that UNRWA’s own mandate expires on 30 June 2023. However, as the mandate has been renewed without interruption to terms served ever since 1949, it seems unlikely that this will have any effect.

Elected leaders

The Secretary-General of the United Nations

The application process for this role was subject to its own campaign by members of our working group: One for Seven Billion.

Director-General of UNESCO

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is an international organisation of 193 member states founded in 1946 and immediately brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter. It is governed by the UNESCO Constitution which following its most recent amendment in 2001 calls for the UNESCO Executive Board to nominate a candidate who is then voted on by the general conference of all members. The Executive Board itself consists of 58 members themselves elected by the general conference. The Director-General serves a four-year term and can be reelected once.

On that basis Audrey Azoulay was elected in November 2017 and reelected in November 2021. She will not be eligible when elections are next held in 2024 for the victor to take office in November 2024.

Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) is an international organisation of 195 member states founded in 1945 and immediately brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter. It is governed by the FAO charter which following its most recent amendment in 2003 calls for the conference of the FAO to elect the Director General for a once renewable term of four years.

On that basis Qu Dongyu was elected on 23 June 2019 and took office on 1 August 2019. Elections will soon commence for the next term of office starting in August 2023; Qu Dongyu is eligible for reelection.

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Association

The International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organisation that was established in 1957 as an autonomous organisation within the United Nations system. It is not a Specialised Agency and instead has established its own reporting mechanisms to the UN Security Council and General Assembly. It is governed by the IAEA Statute acceded to by its 175 member states. The Statute determines that the Director General is appointed by the board of governors with the approval of the General Conference for a four-year term, renewable without term limit. The board of governors consists of a) the ten members most advanced in the fields of atomic energy as determined by the previous board of governors, b) additional members, one per region, in each of the eight regions designated by the Statute of that region does not have one of the ten, c) 22 members elected by the General Conference. All 175 members constitute the General Conference.

On that basis Rafael Mariano Grossi was elected in October 2019 and assumed office on 3 December 2019. He was eligible for reelection and on 10 March it was credibly reported that he had been unanimously reappointed. As there are no term limits he will be eligible for a third term when the post is next contested in advance of a term starting in December 2027.

Secretary-General of the International Civil Aviation Organization

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is an international organisation of 193 member states founded in 1947 and immediately brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter. It is governed by the Convention on International Civil Aviation which establishes a council of 36 members, elected from among the wider membership,and leaves the question of how to appoint the Secretary-General to them. The council then in 1966 adopted a procedure by which the Secretary-General is appointed initially for a period of between three and five years, and renewable only once. A 2011 decision of the council then fixed the term at three years.

On that basis Juan Carlos Salazar was elected in February 2021 for a three-year term beginning 1 August 2021. He will be eligible for reelection when elections are next held in 2024 for the victor to take office on 1 August 2024.

President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution established in 1977 by General Assembly resolution 32/107 and the Agreement Establishing IFAD and operating as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter in 1974. It has 177 member states. The President is selected for a four-year term renewable once by member states, each of which has a number of votes determined by the amount they paid into the fund.

On that basis Alvaro Lario was elected in March 2022 and appointed on 7 July 2022 for a term starting in October 2022, and will be eligible for reelection when elections are next contested in the run up to October 2026.

Director-General of the International Labour Organisation

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is an international organisation of 187 member states founded in 1919 and brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter in 1946. It is governed by the ILO Charter as amended which determines that the Director-General will be appointed by the Governing Body. The Governing Body contains 56 members. Ten of these members are held by the ten “states of chief industrial importance”. It is possible to amend the list of states with chief industrial importance but it is a lengthy and onerous process, and even more so if the Governing Body is itself unwilling to make changes. Thus the membership of the states of chief industrial importance is fairly permanent, and indeed the ILO website itself describes them as permanent members. These members are Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. 18 of these members are elected by the 187 member states from among the other 177 members once every three years at the ILO’s conference (6 from Africa, 5 from the Americas, 4 from Asia, 3 from Europe). 14 of the members are elected in a personal capacity from and by the 187 workers’ representatives at the ILO’s conference. 14 of the members are elected in a personal capacity from and by the 187 employers’ representatives at the ILO’s conference. The term of office is covered by the staff handbook and took its most recent form in 2009 whereby the Director-General was appointed for a five-year time, renewable once.

On that basis the Governing Body elected Gilbert F. Houngbo on 25 March 2022. He took office on 1 October 2022, and will be eligible for reelection when his term expires on 1 October 2027.

Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is an international organisation of 175 member states founded in 1948 and immediately brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter. It is governed by the Convention of the IMO amended by subsequent decisions which calls for the Council of the IMO to nominate the Secretary-General and present them to a vote of members for approval for a once renewable four year term. The Council of the IMO consists of 40 members elected by the whole.

On that basis Kitack Lim was elected in 2015. His appointment was renewed in 2019 and he started his second term on 1 January 2020. He was not eligible for reelection when elections were held at the July 2023 session of the Council. The next Secretary-General will begin their term on 1 January 2024.

The IMO were kind enough to confirm who was formally nominated for the post:

• Moin Uddin Ahmed of Bangladesh (it had been previously reported that Bangladesh was running a candidate but not who they were)
• Ambassador Suat Hayri Aka of Turkey, reportedly also backed by Greece as part of a deal whereby Turkey backs Greece’s bid to be elected to the UN Security Council
• Arsenio Dominguez Velasco of Panama (as previously reported)
• Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry of Dominica – who had made their candidacy public
• Nancy Karigithu of Kenya (as previously reported)
• Minna Kivimäki of Finland who had seemingly not made their candidacy public
• Zhang Xiaojie of China who had seemingly not made their candidacy public

However they then did not report the detailed results, absurdly citing privacy, announcing only that Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco had been selected and, subject to approval by the Assembly will now serve until 1 January 2028, when they will be eligible for reelection.

Fortunately credible third party reporting was able to circumvent the IMO’s attempt to hide the results and reported them in full:

Moin Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh) withdrew immediately prior to the start of the election

Round 1

• Arsenio Dominguez (Panama) 11
• Suat Hayri Aka (Turkey) 10
• Minna Kivimäki (Finland) 6
• Zhang Xiajojie (China) 5
• Nancy Karigithu (Kenya) 5
• Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry (Dominica) 3

Round 2

• Arsenio Dominguez (Panama) 15
• Suat Hayri Aka (Turkey) 10
• Minna Kivimäki (Finland) 6
• Zhang Xiajojie (China) 5
• Nancy Karigithu (Kenya) 4

Round 3

• Arsenio Dominguez (Panama) 17
• Suat Hayri Aka (Turkey) 10
• Minna Kivimäki (Finland) 8
• Zhang Xiajojie (China) 5

Round 4

• Arsenio Dominguez (Panama) 21 ELECTED
• Suat Hayri Aka (Turkey) 11
• Minna Kivimäki (Finland) 8

Director General of the International Organisation for Migration

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) was established in 1951 and currently has 175 members. As part of the 2016 UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants it was made a related organisation of the UN by mutual agreement but not as a specialised agency, reporting to the UN General Assembly through the Secretary-General. It is governed by the IOM constitution under which the Director General is elected by a two thirds majority of member states for up to two terms of five years each.

On that basis António Vitorino was elected for a term starting in October 2018, breaking a fifty year run of five consecutive Americans by beating a controversial Donald Trump-supported candidate. There has also been a fifty-year run of five consecutive first-term Directors General being elected unopposed for a second term, but in May 2023 he was challenged for election by his American deputy, Amy Pope. Pope won the first round on a 98-67 vote, which was a clear lead but not a two-thirds majority. In response Vitorino dropped out meaning that Amy Pope was elected on 15 May 2023 for a five year term starting 1 October 2023. The post will next be contested in the run up to 1 October 2028, with Pope eligible for reelection.

Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is an international organisation of 193 member states founded in 1865 and brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter in 1949. It is governed by a number of basic texts according to which the four yearly Plenipotentiary Conference of member states is the supreme governing body of the Organisation. By a decision most recently revisited at the 2006 conference, the Secretary-General is elected by members at each conference, takes office on January 1 of the year following, and is only eligible for reelection once.

On that basis Doreen Bogdan-Martin was elected at their conference in September 2022 and started her term on 1 January 2023. She will be eligible for reelection when elections are next held in 2026 for a term starting on 1 January 2027.

Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation

The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) was established by the UN General Assembly in Resolution 2152 as an organ of the General Assembly, and then reconstituted in 1979 as a Specialized Agency and brought into association with the UN under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter in 1985. It is governed by the Constitution of UNIDO under which the Director-General is appointed by the Conference upon recommendation of the Board for a period of four years, renewed once. The Board is made up of 53 members elected by the Conference. The conference consists of the 171 members of the UN who have joined UNIDO.

On that basis Gerd Müller was elected and confirmed in November 2021, and will be eligible for reelection in 2025 when the post is next contested.

Director-General of the World Health Organisation

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is an international organisation of 194 member states founded in 1946 and immediately brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter. It is governed by the Constitution of WHO under which the World Health Assembly (WHA), the body of all member states, appoints the Director-General on the nomination of the Board (34 members, technically qualified in the field of health, elected by the WHA) according to terms of the WHA’s choosing. By their most recent decisions, the Executive Board holds a series of elections by secret ballot to whittle down the list of candidates to one, who they propose to the WHA to vote on by public roll call vote. The Director General may then serve up to two five-year terms.

On that basis Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected in 2017 and reelected in May 2022 for a second term starting in August 2022. He was the sole candidate and received 155 out of 160 votes, but did not receive the vote of his native Ethiopia – which is notable because elsewhere in the UN system one frequently cannot even apply for a role without the backing of your home state. He will not be eligible when elections are next held in 2027 for the victor to take office in August 2027.

Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is an international organisation of 193 member states founded in 1970 and brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter in 1974. It also contains within it the Berne Convention and the Paris Convention, although not all members are members of both conventions and some are not members of either. Berne has 181 signatories and Paris has 179, with about 15 who are members of one but not the other. It is governed by the WIPO Convention and subsequent decisions of the assemblies of member states, the most recent of which were adopted in 2019. On this basis, a coordinating committee is established by joining the members of the Executive Committee of the Paris Convention (42 members elected by Paris Convention signatories and Switzerland) and the members of the Executive Committee of the Berne Convention (41 members elected by Berne Convention signatories), and the coordinating committee elects a candidate to nominate. The nominated candidate then has to win a majority of votes cast by all member states, and additionally a majority of all Paris Convention signatories and a majority of all Berne Convention signatories. Under the terms of the WIPO convention, Directors-General are elected for renewable terms of six years. A 1998 amendment to the convention would see Directors-General limited to two terms, but it has not yet entered into force (56 of the 129 states required to ratify the amendment have so far done so). However, in anticipation of its eventual adoption, Directors-General have not sought third terms since 1998.

On that basis Daren Tang was elected in April 2020 and appointed by consensus on 8 May 2020 for a term starting on 1 October 2020, and will be eligible for reelection when elections are next contested in the run-up to 1 October 2026.

Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) is an international organisation of 187 member states founded in 1947 and immediately brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter. It is governed by the Convention of the WMO which in turn delegates decisions about executive leadership to the Congress of its member states. Under the most recent version of the established regulations, the congress elects the Secretary-General for up to two four-year terms.

On that basis Petteri Taalas was appointed in 2015 and appointed again in 2019,starting his second term on 1 January 2020. Elections were held on 1 June 2023 for a term starting on 1 January 2024. Declared candidates included Celeste Saulo, director of Argentina’s meteorological service; Wenjian Zhang, the Chinese deputy secretary general at WMO; Elena Manaenkova, a Russian-Swiss who is also deputy secretary general at WMO and Albert Martis, second vice-president of WMO.

The WMO did not declare the final result but did declare that Celeste Saulo had won the required two thirds majority on the first round in what was reported as a “landslide“. She will be eligible for re-election in the run up to her first term ending on 1 January 2028.

Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organisation

The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is an international organisation of 160 member states founded in 1946 and refounded in its current form in 1960. It was brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter in 2003. It is governed by the Statutes of the WTO under which the Secretary-General is elected by the members on the recommendation of the Executive Council, which is also elected by the members. The Secretary-General is elected for a renewable term of four years. An amendment setting a two-term limit was proposed in 2005, but appears not yet to have been ratified (it had not as of 2017, and perennial concern has been voiced over how few UNWTO amendments have ever been ratified).

On that basis Zurab Pololikashvili was elected and appointed by consensus in late 2017 for a term starting 1 Jan 2018 and reelected in late 2021 for a term starting on 1 Jan 2022. His term will expire on 1 Jan 2026 and he would either be unable to run again or simply under significant pressure not to do so, depending on if the amendment had been ratified by that stage.

Director-General of the Universal Postal Union

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is an international organisation of 192 member states founded in 1874 and brought into association with the UN as a Specialized Agency under articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter in 1948. It is governed by various governing documents and treaties. Under the General Regulations, a congress of members is held every four years. Each congress elects a Director-General to serve between congresses, their term therefore being four years. Their term of office is renewable once only. Unless Congress decides otherwise, the date on which they take up their duties shall be fixed at 1 January of the year following that in which Congress is held.

On that basis Masahiko Metoki was elected at their 27th Congress in August 2021 and started his term on 1 January 2022. He will be eligible for reelection when elections are next held at the 28th congress in 2025 for a term starting on 1 January 2026.

Appointed by other means

Rector of the United Nations University – attends CEB meetings but is not a member

The United Nations University (UNU) is a University established by and as part of the United Nations when the UN General Assembly approved its Charter in 1973. Under that charter the UN Secretary-General appoints the rector in consultation with the Director-General of UNESCO with both having to approve the final candidate. That candidate is chosen from a shortlist prepared by a nominating committee consisting of three members of the UNU Council (in turn appointed by the UN Secretary-General and Director-General of UNESCO) and one member each appointed by the UN Secretary-General and Director-General of UNESCO. The UNU Council also needs to approve the shortlist. The rector is appointed for a five-year term which may be renewed once.

On that basis Tshilidzi Marwala was appointed in July 2022 for a term starting in March 2023. He will be eligible for renewal when that term expires in March 2028.