By AFP
GENEVA: Nine candidates are vying to succeed Juan Somavia as director-general of the International Labor Organization, the UN body said Monday after nominations closed.
It named them as Charles Dan from Benin, Britain’s Guy Ryder, Angelino Garzon of Colombia, Gilles de Robien from France, Ad Melkert from the Netherlands, Jomo Kwame Sundaram of Malaysia, Niger’s Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Senegalese Assane Diop and Mona Sahlin from Sweden.
Somavia’s successor will be chosen on May 28 by the ILO’s governing body, comprising 28 government representatives and 14 each from the employers’ and workers’ side.
The Chilean ILO chief, who is 70, is retiring on Sept. 30, 18 months earlier than originally scheduled.
He was the first representative of an emerging country to be appointed to head the 183-state ILO, which is responsible for drawing up and overseeing international labor standards.
