ILO Director-General
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ILO Director-General

  1. ILO Director-General Guy Ryder took office on 1 October 2012. Guy Ryder sees the ILO as absolutely central to the questions of the day: jobs, social protection, the fight against poverty, and equality. For this reason, he wants to reinforce the ILO's place at the centre of international decision-making on issues that affect the world of work.

    The Director-General wants the ILO to play a role in difficult global situations - such as economic crisis - and on the national agendas of countries undergoing change, especially where the world of work is at stake.

    To support these goals, Guy Ryder has started a process of internal reform to strengthen the ILO's technical capacity and improve its policy analysis.

I am absolutely determined that the ILO cannot be satisfied with being a moral commentator on the state of the world. We haven’t got to be a social conscience. We have got to be a determined and effective actor so we can better the lives of the many millions of women and men who need the ILO and whom we are here to serve.”

G. Ryder

Statements and speeches

  1. Labour rights

    Message by the ILO's Director-General on the occasion of
    International Migrants Day

    18 December 2012

  2. Statement

    Joint statement by Mr Haruhiko Kuroda, President, Asian Development Bank, and Mr Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO

    17 December 2012

List all »

News and press releases

  1. Press release

    ILO Director-General arrives in the Philippines, extends sympathies to typhoon survivors

    16 December 2012

  2. Photo coverage

    ILO Director-General visits shrimp peeling facility in Samut Sakhon

    15 December 2012

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In the media

  1. CNBC World Wide Exchange

    ILO Chief: US needs 10 million new jobs to get to pre-crisis levels

    10 December 2012

  2. NBC

    Wage growth still far below pre-crisis level, warns the ILO

    07 December 2012

  3. BBC World Business Report

    Falling labour share cause for concern, says ILO

    07 December 2012

List all »

Videos and photos

  1. Video coverage

    ILO Chief visits Thailand

    15 December 2012

  2. Interview with ILO News

    "Things are getting worse" when it comes to job recovery

    11 October 2012

List all »

About the Director-General

  1. Biography
  2. Vision and priorities
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A new Director-General is elected every five years by the Governing Body. Subject to the instructions of the Governing Body, the Director-General is responsible for the efficient conduct of the International Labour Office and other duties as may be assigned.

Former Directors-General

Juan Somavia Juan Somavia (Chile), Ninth Director-General of the ILO, 1999-2012
Michel Hansenne Michel Hansenne (Belgium), Eighth Director-General of the ILO, 1989-1999
Francis Blanchard Francis Blanchard (France), Seventh Director-General of the ILO,1974-1989
C. Wilfred Jenks C. Wilfred Jenks (United Kingdom), Sixth Director-General of the ILO,1970-1973
David A. Morse David A. Morse (USA), Fifth Director-General of the ILO, 1948-1970
Edward J. Phelan Edward J. Phelan (Ireland), Fourth Director-General of the ILO, 1941-1948
John G. Winant John G. Winant (USA), Third Director of the ILO, 1939-1941
Harold Butler Harold B. Butler (United Kingdom), Second Director of the ILO, 1932-1938
Albert Thomas (France), First Director of the ILO, 1919-1932
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