Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo, former Prime Minister of Togo, was elected on 25th March 2022 during the 344th session of the ILO Governing Body in Geneva, Switzerland. He will take up his post as Director General of the ILO in October 2022.
He served as Deputy Director-General of the ILO for Field Operations and Partnerships and is currently President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Governing Body of the ILO, composed of 56 full members (28 governments, 14 employers and 14 workers) and 66 alternate members (28 governments, 19 employers and 19 workers), endorsed his appointment. He will take up his duties as the 11th Director-General of the ILO and the first African to hold this position.
It is worth recalling that Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo was battling it out with 4 other candidates, namely Muriel Pénicaud, former French Minister of Labour; Kang Kyung-wha, former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mthunzi Mdwaba, South African law professor and President of SANA (a joint South African-Norwegian business association); and Greg Vines, Australian and current Deputy Director General of the ILO.
In addition to being the 11th Director General at the Permanent Secretariat of the ILO, he is also the first Director General from the African continent. He will serve for the period 2022-2027 and his term will begin on the 1st of October, thus replacing the outgoing Director General, Guy Ryder from the United Kingdom, who has held the post since 2012.
The ILO is the oldest specialized agency of the United Nations that was created in 1919. Currently, its membership stands at 187 member states, with a mandate of [advancing social justice and] promoting decent work.
A great deal of challenges awaits this 61-year-old former Togolese prime minister (2008-2012) and former boss of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (a position he has held since April 2017) in a context where the world of work is heavily shaken by the Covid-19-related health crisis.
" Whereas I originate from Africa, I have a global perspective. In an era unfortunately marked by division, my commitment to being a unifying Director-General remains steadfast. .... I shall never be anyone’s Director General, but I shall always serve as a Director General of all. The governments, employers and workers, from all regions of the world, can and should count on my full availability to represent and defend the views of all the tripartite constituents of our organization," he said following his election.
