New ITU leadership team in place

3 Oct 2022 02:12 PM

Member states of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have elected Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the US as the organisation’s next secretary-general.

Bogdan-Martin will be the first woman to lead ITU, which was established in 1865 and became a United Nations specialised agency in 1947.

The election took place during ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-22) in Bucharest, Romania.  She received 139 votes out of 172 cast.​​

Doreen Bogdan-Martin – ITU said:

The world is facing significant challenges – escalating conflicts, a climate crisis, food security, gender inequalities, and 2.7 billion people with no access to the Internet. I believe we, the ITU and our members, have an opportunity to make a transformational contribution. Continuous innovation can and will be a key enabler to facilitate resolution of many of these issues.

Tomas Lamanauskas of Lithuania was elected as the next Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),  and will assist Bogdan-Martin.

I​TU Bureau Directors

Mario Maniewicz of Uruguay was re-elected for his second term as Director of ITU's Radiocommunication Bureau, which is responsible for maintaining and implementing the Radio Regulations treaty that harmonizes international spectrum use and satellite orbits, and for developing the related technical standards.

Seizo Onoe of Japan received the majority of Member State votes to become Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau – responsible for developing international technical standards for telecommunication and ICT.

Fianlly, Cosmas Zavazava of Zimbabwe won the race for Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, which is in charge of  connecting the unconnected through promoting equitable and inclusive digital development. 

UK seeking a seat on ITU Council 

The UK is currently running for a Council seat at the ITU.  

The UK’s election for the four-year term on the council will build on its commitment to encourage the use of ICTs to address these global challenges, increase prosperity in developing countries by taking steps to boost digital inclusion and skills, and promote collaboration and consensus building among the ITU’s 193 member states.

The UK has been an active member of the ITU for more than 150 years, bringing together industry, government, and academia to provide technical expertise and substantive experience to unlock the benefits of digital technical standards for people and businesses.

At the time of writing results have not been published yet.