International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Guy Ryder on September 30 concluded his 10-year term of office and handed the keys of office to his successor, Gilbert F Houngbo.
The three keys represent the ILO’s unique tripartite structure in which Governments, Workers and Employers play an equal role in decision-making, read an ILO press release.
Ryder was elected Director-General by the ILO's Governing Body in May 2012 and was re-elected for a second five-year term starting in 2017.
“In a world that appears more and more inclined to act in ways which are manifestly unfair, it falls to the ILO to reinstate what is just,” said Ryder during the handover ceremony.
“It is with a genuine sentiment of pride, of friendship, of solidarity and of confidence in the future of the ILO under your guidance that I end my mandate by passing the baton into your hands.”
Speaking at the same ceremony, Houngbo said, “I salute your uncompromising commitment to the ILO’s founding values, your resolute pursuit of technical excellence within the organisation’s mandate and your constant respect for our tripartite constituents as a source of insight available uniquely to the ILO. These are qualities I will seek to emulate as I embark on the mandate that has been bestowed upon me.”
Gilbert F Houngbo was elected as the organisation’s 11th Director-General in March 2022, by the ILO’s Governing Body. His term in office starts on 1 October 2022. ILO Directors’-General serve a maximum of two five-year terms.
