UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION

VIENNA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE P.O. BOX 300, A-1400 VIENNA, AUSTRIA TELEPHONE: (+43 1) 260 26-0 FAX: (+43 1) 269 26 69 www.unido.org [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE 13/05 FOR INFORMATION ONLY NOT AN OFFICIAL RECORD

Kandeh Yumkella recommended for UNIDO’s next Director-General

Vienna, 21 June 2005 – The Industrial Development Board (IDB) of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), within its 30th session which opened yesterday in Vienna, met this morning to nominate a candidate for the next UNIDO Director-General.

After a secret ballot, the IDB Members recommended Mr. Kandeh K. Yumkella of for the post after the first round of voting. The candidate will be nominated for confirmation by the UNIDO General Conference at its 11th session scheduled to take place from 28 November to 2 December. He shall then be appointed for a period of four years.

Kandeh Yumkella has been a Senior Advisor to the current Director-General, Carlos Magariños, since 2003. He joined UNIDO in 1996 as Special Advisor to the previous Director-General, Mauricio de Maria y Campos. Afterwards he became Director of the and Least Developed Countries Regional Bureau until 2000 when he was appointed UNIDO Representative and Director of the Regional Industrial Development Centre in , a position he held until 2003.

Between 1994 and 1995 he was Minister for Trade, Industry and State Enterprises of Sierra Leone. During his earlier career he occupied several academic and research positions in the . Mr. Yumkella has also co-authored numerous articles, books and staff papers on international trade and development issues. He holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois.

The 30th session of the IDB will end on 23 June and will also review the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement with UNDP, and develop UNIDO’s strategic long-term vision statement. Furthermore, the Board will consider other issues such as the programme and budgets for the biennium 2006-2007, the activities of the Joint Inspection Unit, personnel matters and the implementation of the medium-term programme framework.

The Industrial Development Board is composed of 53 Member States and reviews the implementation of UNIDO’s work programme, the regular and operational budgets and, every four years, recommends a candidate for Director-General to the General Conference for appointment.

The current members of the IDB are: Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

The procedure for the recommendation and appointment of the Director-General is outlined in Rule 61 of the IDB Rules of Procedure and Rules 100, 103 and 104 of the General Conference Rules of Procedure available at: www.unido.org/idb/rules and www.unido.org/gc/rules. More information on the candidates is available at http://www.unido.org/file-storage/download/?file_id=37724.

Note for editors

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that focuses its efforts on relieving by fostering productivity growth. It helps developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their fight against marginalization in today’s globalized world. UNIDO has 171 member states. For more information, please visit www.unido.org.

Contact for further information: Ms. J. Orlowski Chief, Secretariat of Governing Bodies Tel: +43-1-26026-3599 E-mail: [email protected]

For more information on UNIDO, please contact: Cristina Stricker Information Officer Tel.: +43-1-26026–3034 E-mail: [email protected]