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IAEA / Agency Announces Argentina’s Rafael Grossi As New Director-General

By David Dalton
29 October 2019

Agency Announces Argentina’s Rafael Grossi As New Director-General
Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina received the majority required in a board of governors ballot. Photo courtesy IAEA.
Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina today received the majority required in an International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors ballot to be appointed new director-general of the Vienna-based organisation.

In a closed session, Mr Grossi received the support of 24 members of the 35-nation board of governors, ahead of Romania’s Cornel Feruță with 10 votes.

A further board meeting open to all IAEA member states will be held on Wednesday to appoint Mr Grossi, the agency said in a statement.

The board of governors’ decision will be submitted for approval to the IAEA general conference, which consists of representatives of all 171 member states.

The new director-general – appointed for a term of four years – will be the IAEA’s sixth head since it was founded in 1957. He is likely to assume office no later than 1 January 2020.

Mr Grossi succeeds Yukiya Amano of Japan, who died on 18 July 2019. Mr Amano was the agency’s fifth director-general. He was first appointed to the office effective December 2009 and reappointed in 2013 and 2017.

He followed Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA director-general from 1997 to 2009; Hans Blix, from 1981 to 1997; Sigvard Eklund, from 1961 to 1981; and Sterling Cole, from 1957 to 1961.

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