QU Dongyu of China has emerged the new Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, to succeed José Graziano da Silva of Brazil.

A statement by the FAO media unit on Sunday in Abuja said that Dongyu received a total of 108 votes out of 191 cast, constituting a majority in the first round.

It explained that that the election took place during the 41st session of the FAO Conference from June 22 to June 29, which is the highest governing body of the organisation.

Qu, who was born in 1963, is currently Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China.

He became FAO’s 9th Director-General since the organisation was founded on Oct. 16, 1945.

The term of the new Director-General, would start on August 1 and run to July 31, 2023.

The former Directors-General of the FAO since its establishment included Sir John Boyd Orr, United Kingdom, 1945-1948 , Norris E. Dodd, U.S., 1948-1954, Philip Vincent Cardon, U.S, 1954-1956 and Binay Ranjan Sen, India, 1956-1967.

Others are Addeke Hendrik Boerma, Netherlands, 1968-1975, Adouard Saouma, Lebanon, 1976-1993, Jacques Diouf, Senegal, 1994-2011 and the outgoing, José Graziano da Silva, Brazil, 2011-2019.  – NAN

– June 24, 2018 @ 18:15 GMT |