Togolese Gilbert Houngbo becomes the first African to head the ILO
Gilbert Houngbo is the first African president of the International Labor Organization.
Here he is in 2021 as president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development in Marseille.
© Daniel Cole/AP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The Togolese Gilbert Foussoun Houngbo takes the head of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The candidate supported by the African Union was elected this Friday in the second round against four competitors, including the former Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud.
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Gilbert Houngbo is an accountant by training.
He studied in Lomé and then in Canada.
This sexagenarian has worn different hats, both public and private.
He also had political responsibilities.
This undoubtedly contributed to his election at the head of this tripartite organization.
He first worked at Pricewaterhouse, a large audit firm.
He was then a member of the strategic team and administrative and financial director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) before occupying the position of Deputy Secretary General and Africa Director of UNDP, from 2006.
In 2008, Faure Gnassingbe appointed him Prime Minister of Togo.
A political position he held
for more than three years
.
Gilbert Houngbo already knows the International Labor Organization well.
He held the position of deputy director in charge of field operations.
After which, he took the helm of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
A position he held until now.
► To listen also: Guest Africa - Gilbert Houngbo: "Unprotected biodiversity negatively impacts small producers"
Between social justice and the consequences of the war in Ukraine
Gilbert Houngbo will take office next October as head of the ILO.
He said he wanted to put “
social justice
” at the heart of his mandate.
In his first challenges, he will have to deal with the negative consequences of the pandemic on the labor market as well as the impact of the new conflict in Ukraine.
His predecessor, Guy Ryder, said recently that "
working people will be among the first victims
", adding that "
the destruction of jobs, businesses and livelihoods will be colossal and will have repercussions for many years .
»
The organization will also have to play its normative mission as digitization has accelerated with the Covid-19 pandemic.
From teleworking technologies to the world of the Metaverse, we will have to deal with these developments for this organization with an essential normative mission.
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