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Media advisory

ILO Governing Body to elect next Director-General

Media advisory | 14 March 2022
GENEVA (ILO News) – The 344th session of International Labour Organization’s Governing Body opened on Monday 14 March 2022. It will continue to address key issues in the world of work, including the human-centred recovery in response to the COVID-19 crisis. It will also elect the new Director-General of the Organization.

Among the items with far-reaching policy implications to be discussed are issues relating to the inclusion of safe and healthy working conditions in the ILO’s framework of fundamental rights, the follow up action to the 2021 Conference resolution on inequality in the world of work and the strengthening of multilateral cooperation, stemming from the high-level Global Forum for a human-centred recovery in February 2022. The Governing Body will also examine the developments in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Venezuela as part of its supervisory functions.

In-person hearings with the five candidates for the position of ILO Director-General will be held in private on 14 March. The election itself will take place on 25 March and will be announced publicly once the outcome is known.

The five candidates for the post are Gilbert Houngbo of Togo, Kang Kyung-wha of the Republic of Korea, Mthunzi Mdwaba of South Africa, Muriel Pénicaud of France and Greg Vines of Australia.

The candidates’ vision and CVs are available on the ILO website, as well as recordings of the candidate public dialogues that took place in February 2022. Interview requests should be made through newsroom@ilo.org.

The new Director-General’s term will begin on 1 October 2022. The current Director-General, Guy Ryder, from the United Kingdom, has held the office since 2012.

The Governing Body will close on 25 or 26 March.