The former Prime Minister of Togo, Gilbert Houngbo, took the helm of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on Friday March 25, becoming the first African to hold this position. 

He was elected in the second round by the members of the Governing Body representing the 187 Member States and the organizations of employers and employees, the ILO having the particularity of being a tripartite organization.

Gilbert Houngbo, 61, is from a rural prefecture in Togo.

He has spent the majority of his career in international organizations, where he is seen as a seasoned senior civil servant.

The new head of the ILO will take office in early October, succeeding former British trade unionist Guy Ryder, in office for 10 years and who has reached the two-term limit.

Gilbert Houngbo preferred to the French Muriel Pénicaud

Gilbert Houngbo currently chairs the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome.

But he knows the ILO very well, where he held the position of Deputy Director (2013-2017) in charge of Field Operations.

Former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), he was also a member of the strategic team and administrative and financial director of the organization.

Five candidates were in the running for this election - behind closed doors and by secret ballot.

His main opponent was the former French Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud, who was supported by Paris and the European bloc.

Born in the aftermath of the Great War in 1919, the ILO has so far never been led by a woman, nor by a representative from Africa or Asia.

On the other hand, it counts among its former bosses two Frenchmen, including the first, Albert Thomas (1919-1932).

"Preserving the progress made (...) in terms of social justice"

In his candidacy, Gilbert Houngbo had made it known that his ambition was to preserve the progress made in recent decades in terms of social justice.

The new head of the ILO will have the particular task of adapting the standards of this centenary organization to a labor market in full mutation under the effect of new technologies.

Especially since the Covid-19 pandemic has given a boost to teleworking technologies which make it possible to abolish geographical barriers and work as a team remotely.

 With AFP

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