The IAEA Board of Governors on 23 September elected by acclamation Ambassador Mikaela Kumlin Granit of Sweden as the Chairperson of the IAEA’s Board of Governors for 2019–2020. She replaces Ambassador Leena Al-Hadid of Jordan.
Ambassador Kumlin Granit is Sweden’s Resident Representative to the Agency and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Vienna, as well as Ambassador to Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia. She is a career diplomat who joined the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1994. Prior to taking up her current assignment, she was Deputy Director General and Head of the Department for European Affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (2012–2018).
The IAEA Board of Governors also elected by acclamation the two Vice-Chairs, Governor of Azerbaijan Galib Israfilov and Governor of Egypt Omar Amer Youssef.
Earlier, on 19 September, 11 countries were newly elected to serve on the 35-member Board of Governors for 2019–2020: Estonia, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Kuwait, Mongolia, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay and Saudi Arabia. The new composition of the Board is: Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, the UK, the USA and Uruguay.
Photo: Mikaela Kumlin Granit has been named chair of the IAEA’s Board of Governors (Photo: K. Nikolic/IAEA)