At the age of 61, Gilbert Houngbo from Togo has been elected to head the International Labour Organisation (ILO). He thus becomes the first African to hold this position of responsibility.
On Friday 25 March 2022, Gilbert Houngbo, former Prime Minister of Togo, was elected by the ILO Governing Body with 30 votes, against 23 for his main opponent, the former French Minister of Labour Muriel Pénicaud. He then became the first African to take the leads of the International Labour Organisation. This is an indication of the quality of African skills in an ever-changing world.
A rich background
A former UN Under-Secretary-General and Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), he was also a member of the strategic team and the organisation’s Administrative and Financial Director. Deputy Director for Field Operations at the ILO from 2013 to 2017, he is currently President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome. For example, the man has spent most of his career in international organisations and is considered a seasoned civil servant on a global scale. He will officially take up his new position in early October, succeeding former British trade unionist Guy Ryder, who has been in office for 10 years and has reached the two-term limit.
Ambitious for his historic term
“I am deeply and utterly honoured to be the first representative of the African region to be chosen to lead the ILO after one hundred and three years of existence,” he said, following his election to head the oldest UN specialised agency. For him the result of the election “It has a strong symbolic value. For example, it states that “Your choice (…) fulfils the aspirations of a young African, a young African whose humble upbringing has turned into a life-long quest for social justice. In his candidacy, Gilbert Houngbo stressed that his vision for the ILO was inspired by the preamble of the organisation’s Constitution: “Whereas a universal and lasting peace can only be founded on the basis of social justice”. He also recognised the need to preserve the achievements: “The progress made in recent decades in the field of social justice must be preserved and protected”. He wrote.And global solutions to new challenges and opportunities must be centred on human, environmental, economic and societal values. In short, a new global social contract is needed.
A successful challenge
For the election, five candidates were in the running. The main opponent was Mme Pénicaud, supported by the European bloc. Former Minister of Labour from May 2017 to July 2020, the Frenchwoman initiated the major social reforms of Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term, such as those of the Labour Code or unemployment insurance, which were strongly criticised by the unions. In addition, the former South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (2 votes), the South African entrepreneur Mthunzi Mdwaba (1 vote) and the Australian Greg Vines were also candidates. Finally, Mr Houngbo acknowledged that his “The world needs an ILO that is able to address the real problems of workers and enterprises. Gilbert Houngbo thus becomes the first African head of the oldest UN agency.
