Qu Dongyu, China's Vice Minister of Agriculture, was elected Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Sunday 23 June in Rome. He will succeed José Graziano da Silva, a Brazilian who has held two terms of office, in August.
This is the first time a Chinese person has had this function. Qu Dongyu, 55 years old, won the election for a four-year term (1 August 2019 to 31 July 2023) to the leadership of the UN organisation in the first round with 108 votes. The candidate from France and the European Union, Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, long presented as the favourite, received only 71 votes and the Georgian candidate, Davit Kirvalidze, 12. Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle had, however, spared no effort in order to be the first woman to take up this position (see EUROPE 12180/15).
“This is a historic date, a new springboard” for agriculture and food in the world, said Qu Dongyu, who promised to “do everything to be impartial and neutral”. He also pledged to be “concrete” in the fight against hunger and poverty in the world, while stressing the need to “reform” the organisation to create “a new, younger and more dynamic FAO”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)