WIPO has announced that it has received 10 candidatures for the post of Director General.

The current Director General, Francis Gurry, is due to retire on 30 September this year after completing two six-year terms.

The 10 candidates are:

• Prof Adebambo Adewopo (Nigeria)
• Mr Marco Matías Alemán (Colombia)
• Mr Ivo Gagliuffi Piercechi (Peru)
• Dr Edward Kwakwa (Ghana)
• Mr Kenichiro Natsume (Japan)
• Mr Dámaso Pardo (Argentina)
• Mr Jüri Seilenthal (Estonia)
• Mr Daren Tang (Singapore)
• Ms Saule Tlevlessova (Republic of Kazakhstan)
• Ms WANG Binying (China)

Member states had until 30 December 2019 to propose candidates.

The WIPO Coordination Committee will meet on 5 and 6 March 2020 to nominate a candidate for appointment. This Committee comprises 83 WIPO member states.

The procedures for nomination and appointment state: “The nomination of a candidate for Director General should, if possible, be made by consensus. This will facilitate the appointment of the Director General by the General Assembly. However, it is recognized that voting will probably be a necessary means of building consensus for the nomination of a candidate. Efforts to nominate a candidate via consultations leading to consensus are welcome at any stage of the selection process, but such efforts should not unduly delay the decision-making process.”

In the last election, in 2008, there were 15 candidates and several rounds of voting. In the final round, Mr Gurry secured 42 votes and his rival Mr Jose Graça Aranha received 41.

Once nominated, the successful candidate will be appointed by the WIPO General Assembly, which meets on 7 and 8 May 2020.

The terms of outgoing Deputy Directors General and Assistant Directors General also expire on 30 September 2020.

The next Director General will be WIPO’s fifth, following Mr Georg Bodenhausen, Mr Arpad Bogsch, Dr Kamil Idris and Mr Gurry.