Japan’s representative elected chairman of UN atomic agency Board for 2005-06

Japan’s representative has been elected 2005-06 chairman of the Board of Governors of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose tasks range from preventing nuclear weapons proliferation to promoting the use of nuclear technology in medicine and agriculture to safeguarding atomic power plants.

Ambassador Yukiya Amano, elected at the Board’s annual meeting in Vienna last week, succeeds Canada’s Ingrid Hall. He has held increasingly senior positions in the Japanese Foreign Ministry, notably as Director of the Science Division, Director of the Nuclear Energy Division and Deputy Director General for Arms Control and Scientific Affairs.

He was appointed Director-General for Arms Control and Scientific Affairs in August 2002 and Director-General of the Disarmament, Non-proliferation and Science Department in August 2004. He took up his current assignment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to International Organizations in Vienna and Japan´s Governor on the IAEA´s Board of Governors in September 2005.

Also last week, Member States elected the 35 members to the Board for 2005-06. They are: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Republic of, Libya, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Venezuela, and Yemen.